Department for Transport

A1: Speed Limits

Sir Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the timeframe is for the temporary 40mph speed limit on the A1 at Buckden and A1(M) north to be removed; and if he will make a statement.

Sir Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what procedures his Department has put in place to ensure that the roadworks currently taking place on the A1 and A1(M) north of Buckden are completed (a) in a timely manner and (b) with the minimum disruption to motorists.

Jesse Norman: The traffic management arrangements on the A1, including the reduced speed limit and narrow lanes, have been designed to minimise the impact of the A14 Cambridge to Huntingdon scheme on road users by keeping the existing number of lanes open wherever possible. Temporary speed restrictions will remain until the A1(M) from Brampton Hut to Alconbury is opened in Summer 2019. Traffic management is only applied during roadworks when it is absolutely necessary for the safety of road users and the workforce. At times it is necessary to close the A1 between Alconbury and Buckden, in which case a diversion route is put in place utilising the A14 Spur and the A1198/A428. These closures generally take place overnight between 9pm and 6am the following morning when the road is less busy. However, if the overnight works are completed ahead of schedule, Highways England will re-open the road early. Highways England continue to work closely with Cambridgeshire County Council, the local highway authority, and the police to address any negative impacts whilst the diversions are in place. Monthly meetings are held to address concerns raised by residents. Highways England have also met with Parish Councillors from across the project and work hard to resolve any issues.

Cycling: Coventry

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to improve safety for cyclists on roads in Coventry.

Jesse Norman: Local traffic authorities such as Coventry are free to make their own decisions about the design of the streets under their care, provided they take account of the relevant legislation. They also have the powers to set local 20 mph speed limits or traffic calming measures in line with their local conditions and requirements, in areas heavily used by bicycles. We continue to seek to make cycling safer. That is why we launched our Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy (CWIS) Safety Review Call for Evidence. This closed on 1 June 2018. Over 13,000 responses were submitted and are being considered. The Department will continue to consider the evidence submitted and issue a response in due course.

Roads: Coventry

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent estimate he has made of the number of road accidents involving telegraph poles or road signs in Coventry since 2010.

Jesse Norman: The number of reported accidents where a ‘road sign or traffic signal’ or ‘telegraph or electricity pole’ was recorded as the first object hit off carriageway for a vehicle involved in the accident in Coventry for years 2010 to 2017 is given in the table. Reported accidents by first object hit by vehicle(s) off carriageway, Coventry, 2010 to 2017YearRoad sign or traffic signalTelegraph or electricity poleRoad sign/traffic signal or telegraph/electricity pole12010437201152720124372013741120144152015819201641520178311Source: DfT Stats19 1. Accidents can involve both a road sign/traffic signal and a telegraph/electricity pole for different vehicles

Cycling

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent estimate he has made of the number of cyclists who have died due to potholes on roads in (a) Coventry and (b) England in each year for which information is available; and if he will make a statement.

Jesse Norman: The Department does not collect data on the cause of road accidents, or on potholes in road accidents specifically. Contributory factors assigned by police officers do not assign blame for the accident to any specific road user, however they do provide some insight into why and how road accidents occur. They give an indication of which factors the attending officer thought contributed to the accident. Officers do not need to carry out a full investigation of the incident before allocating contributory factors; they usually use professional judgement about what they can see at the scene. For each year where contributory factors data is available (2005 to 2017), the number of reported pedal cyclist fatalities in England where a contributory factor of ‘poor or defective road surface’ was reported in the accident is provided in the table. There were no pedal cyclist fatalities in Coventry in accidents where this contributory factor was recorded for the years 2005 to 2017.Reported pedal cyclist fatalities where 'Poor or defective road surface' reported as a contributory factor in the accident, England, 2005 to 2017  YearFatalities20050200612007220080200912010620112201212013120140201512016420170   Source: DfT STATS19Not all accidents are included in the contributory factor data; only accidents where the police attended the scene and reported at least one contributory factor are included. A total of 72 per cent of accidents reported to the police in 2017 in Great Britain met these criteria Advice about potholes is available to local highway authorities through the UK Roads Liaison Group Code of Practice, “Well Managed Highway Infrastructure”. This Code provides guidance to highway authorities on maintaining and managing their highways for all road users. The Code refers to other advice, including the Pothole Review report published in 2012, which provides guidance on areas including preventative maintenance and delivering “right first time” pothole repairs. This Report was endorsed by a number of organisations, including the Cyclists’ Touring Club, now Cycling UK and refers to the needs of cyclists when considering maintenance requirements. The Review report recommends that authorities consider the guidance provided in the ADEPT report, “Potholes and Repair Techniques for Local Highways” and adopt as appropriate to their local circumstances using a risk based approach which should take account of the need of cyclists.

Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency: Staff

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the additional staff required to work at the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency to cover work related to the UK leaving the EU.

Chris Grayling: The Department for Transport has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Driving: EU Law

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the additional staff required to issue and check International Driver Permits for drivers entering the UK from the EU member states after the UK leaves the EU.

Chris Grayling: The Department for Transport has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Driving: EU Law

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many International Driver Permits have been issued to EU drivers and haulage companies in preparation for the UK leaving the EU to date.

Chris Grayling: The Department for Transport has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Driving: EU Law

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the number of International Driver Permit checks that will be required for drivers who do not hold UK driving licenses who enter the UK from the EU after the UK leaves the EU.

Chris Grayling: The Department for Transport has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Parking: Pedestrian Areas

Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when the Government plans to complete its evidence gathering on the issue of pavement parking including how it is addressed in legislation.

Jesse Norman: This work is now well under way, and is expected to conclude by the end of 2018.

Parking: Pedestrian Areas

Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 29 March 2018 to Question 133707 on parking: pedestrian areas, when his Department will publish its conclusions from its work on pavement parking including how it is addressed in current regulation.

Jesse Norman: The Department for Transport is currently gathering evidence on pavement parking in order to understand whether the current legislation is working effectively and how it might be improved. This is an internal review, and the evidence gathered will help the Department to consider any future change of policy. This work is expected to be complete by the end of 2018.

Parking: Pedestrian Areas

Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, for what reasons pavement parking is permitted outside London; and if he will make a statement.

Jesse Norman: The Department for Transport believes that local authorities outside London already have the powers needed to take action against inappropriate pavement parking. However, the Department is currently reviewing the effectiveness of these powers, and considering options for change. This is an internal review, and is due to complete by the end of this year.

Large Goods Vehicles: Parking

Anneliese Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 4 May 2018 to Question 139598, what steps he has taken to improve the availability of safe, secure and appropriate parking facilities for heavy goods vehicles in terms of (a) planning, (b) the role of Highways England (c) setting standards for lorry parking facilities and (d) tackling illegal parking.

Jesse Norman: On the 24 July the Government issued a revised version of the National Planning Policy Framework that now indicates that the need for sufficient overnight lorry parking should be taken into account in planning policies and decisions. There are already various positive market developments, with operators coming forward with plans for new and expanded sites. In addition, Highways England are currently reviewing their landholdings in order to identify sites with the potential to be developed into lorry parks. On the 18 May the Department published a comprehensive survey of lorry parking in England, including in relation to welfare standards. On request the Department will share the underlying survey data relating to specific sites, in support of various existing market-led initiatives to improve the transparency around standards. There is a current trial of the use of new enforcement approaches in a part of Kent to deter inappropriate parking that has seen positive results to date. The Government is monitoring the outcomes of the 18-month trial with a view to informing future measures in relation to parking enforcement.

Gospel Oak-Barking Railway Line

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of services on the London Overground Barking-Gospel Oak line.

Joseph Johnson: The Department for Transport has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Gospel Oak-Barking Railway Line

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the availability of new trains on the London Overground Barking-Gospel Oak line, if he will direct Angel Trains to defer the transfer to West Midlands Trains of seven diesel trains currently subleased to Arriva Rail London.

Joseph Johnson: The Department for Transport has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Gospel Oak-Barking Railway Line

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, he will direct Angel Trains to return to Arriva Rail London the diesel train previously sub-leased to that company for use on the Barking to Gospel Oak line until new electric trains are brought into service on that line.

Joseph Johnson: The Department for Transport has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Treasury

Brexit

Chris Ruane: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 11 September 2018 to Question 171310 on Brexit, what proportion of that funding has been allocated to (a) the devolved administrations and (b) local government.

Elizabeth Truss: A full breakdown of how the £1.5bn for 2018/19 was allocated can be found in my Written Ministerial Statement, HCWS540, laid on the 13th March (https://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-statement/Commons/2018-03-13/HCWS540/). This includes £73.9 million for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland due to Barnett consequentials. This money will be paid out in Supplementary Estimates 18/19 later this financial year. Departments will be invited to bid for 2019/20 EU Exit preparation funding later in the year. Details of timings and process will be set out in due course. HM Treasury does not provide funding to local authorities directly. Local authorities receive funding through MHCLG or from departments when their policy imposes costs on the local authority.

Local Government: Private Finance Initiative

Stella Creasy: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much funding his Department has allocated in the form of private finance initiative (a) grants and (b) credits to each local authority in each financial year since 2010.

Robert Jenrick: Since 2010, HM Treasury has not allocated specific funding for Local Authority Private Finance Initiative projects. HM Treasury sets overall departmental budgets and it is the responsibility of each department to allocate funding for specific projects within that.

Parks: Coventry

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on funding for the protection on green spaces in Coventry from damage caused by grass fires during the the summer of 2018.

Elizabeth Truss: The Treasury works closely with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, as well as the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, to consider issues of funding for protection of green spaces and the environment. Local authorities are responsible for determining how they spend their budgets as they are best placed to assess the needs of their community, including those relating to green spaces. Over the five year Spending Review period (from 2015-16 to 2019-20) councils will have access to more than £200 billion to spend on local services.

Business: Tax Yields

Sir Graham Brady: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the (a) overall amount and (b) proportion of tax revenue raised from the contributions of businesses with a turnover of £1 million or less in terms of (i) employer national insurance contributions, (ii) corporation tax, (iii) value added tax and (iv) business rates.

Mel Stride: It is not possible to identify tax revenue raised from the contributions of businesses with a turnover of £1 million or less as the necessary information on turnover is not readily available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. HMRC does not collect business rates. It is possible to identify tax liabilities for businesses with a turnover of £1 million or less for corporation tax and value added tax. We estimate corporation tax liabilities for 2016-17 was £50 billion of which around £12 billion (24%) was contributed by companies with turnover of £1 million or less. We estimate Home VAT liabilities for 2016-17 was £100 billion of which around £16 billion (16%) was contributed by companies with a turnover of £1 million or less. The Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government statistics on national non-domestics rates are available using the following link below. Business rates collected is aggregated data by local authority and not by individual business size. https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/national-non-domestic-rates-collected-by-councils-in-england-forecast-for-2018-to-2019

Public Expenditure: East of England

Daniel Zeichner: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the representations in the East of England APPG Submission to Autumn Budget 2018; and if he will make a statement.

Elizabeth Truss: HM Treasury receives representations from a range of stakeholders ahead of the Budget. We welcome all Budget submissions, particularly from organisations like the East of England APPG, who have unique insight into local strengths and challenges. While it would not be appropriate to respond in detail to individual proposals, all Budget representations submitted during the designated window will be carefully considered.

Treasury: Temporary Employment

Jon Trickett: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many staff in his Department are classified as contingent labour.

Robert Jenrick: As at 31st July 2018 there were 14 (headcount) staff at HM Treasury classified as contingent labour.

Business: Tax Yields

Sir Graham Brady: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the proportion of revenue to the Exchequer raised from businesses with (a) 0-9 employees, (b) 0-49 employees and (c) a turnover of £1 million or less.

Mel Stride: It is not possible to estimate the proportion of revenue raised from businesses with (a) 0-9 employees, (b) 0-49 employees as the information is not held. It is not possible to estimate the proportion of revenue raised from businesses with (c) a turnover of £1 million or less as the information is not readily available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. It is possible to identify tax liabilities for businesses with a turnover of £1 million or less for corporation tax and value added tax. We estimate corporation tax liabilities for 2016-17 was £50 billion of which around £12 billion (24%) was contributed by companies with turnover of £1 million or less. We estimate Home VAT liabilities for 2016-17 was £100 billion of which around £16 billion (16%) was contributed by companies with a turnover of £1 million or less.

Teachers: Pay

Ben Lake: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the contribution of the Prime Minister on 12 September 2018 during Prime Minister's Questions, when he plans to bring forward proposals on the funding for the increase in teachers' pay in Wales.

Elizabeth Truss: I refer the Rt Hon Member to my response to written question 168172 on the 13 September 2018, which sets out the situation regarding funding for the teacher pay award in Wales.

Ports

Mr Simon Clarke: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the White Paper, The Future Relationship Between the United Kingdom and the European Union, published in July 2018, what assessment he has made of the UK's ability to establish Supercharged Free Ports after the UK leaves the EU.

Mel Stride: A free port is an area located at a port which is designated as a free zone. Section 100A of the Customs and Excise Management Act 1979 (CEMA) currently provides the legal basis for the designation of free zones by HM Treasury and will continue to do so following UK withdrawal from the EU. Applying for designation as a free zone will be a commercial decision to be taken by private operators. Schedule 2 Part 2 Paragraph 2 of the Taxation (Cross-border Trade) Act 2018 makes provision to enable HMRC to make regulations imposing requirements in respect of goods kept in free zones designated under CEMA 1979.

Treasury: Living Wage

Catherine West: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many staff in his Department that work (a) inside and (b) outside Greater London are paid at a rate below the Real Living Wage.

Elizabeth Truss: No staff directly employed by HM Treasury who work inside London are paid at a rate below the London Living Wage. No staff directly employed by HM Treasury who work outside Greater London are paid at a rate below the UK Living Wage (also known as the Real Living Wage).

Devolution: Finance

Alan Brown: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, when his Department plans to publish the next edition of the Statement of funding policy: funding the Scottish Parliament, National Assembly for Wales and Northern Ireland Assembly.

Elizabeth Truss: The Statement of Funding Policy will be reviewed and updated as part of the next Spending Review. Since the 2015 edition, funding arrangements to reflect powers devolved through the Scotland Act 2016 and Wales Act 2017 have been separately updated in the Scottish and Welsh Governments’ respective Fiscal Frameworks.

Devolution: Finance

Alan Brown: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to page 63 of document entitled Statement of funding policy: funding the Scottish Parliament, National Assembly for Wales and Northern Ireland Assembly, published by his Department in November 2015, for what reason the London & Continental Railways Corp budget line in Table C.16: Department for Transport is classed as non-Barnett applicable to Scotland but High Speed Two is 100 per cent Barnett applicable to Scotland.

Elizabeth Truss: London & Continental Railways was responsible for the construction of High Speed 1 and the Channel Tunnel. This was an international project and for the benefit of the United Kingdom as a whole. High Speed 2 is a domestic project and rail infrastructure is devolved in Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Tax Avoidance

Peter Kyle: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what representations he has received from self-employed people on the potential extension of IR35 off-payroll tax to the private sector; and what proportion of those representations have been critical of that potential change.

Mel Stride: The Government is considering the responses to the consultation on non-compliance with the off-payroll working rules in the private sector. A number of these responses were from individuals who identified themselves as self-employed. The Government will issue a formal response to the consultation in due course.

Treasury: Living Wage

Catherine West: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many staff in his Department that work (a) inside and (b) outside Greater London are paid at a rate below the London Living Wage.

Robert Jenrick: No staff directly employed by HM Treasury who work inside London are paid at a rate below the London Living Wage. No staff directly employed by HM Treasury who work outside Greater London are paid at a rate below the UK Living Wage.

Sanitary Protection: VAT

Anneliese Dodds: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent discussions his Department has had with the EU on the EU classification of sanitary items for VAT purposes.

Mel Stride: The Government has continued to press at EU level for the flexibility to apply a zero rate of VAT to women’s sanitary products so that this can be introduced in the UK at the earliest opportunity. In January 2018, the European Commission brought forward a legislative proposal to enhance Member States’ flexibility to apply reduced and zero rates of VAT. This proposal remains under discussion and, if agreed to by Member States, would give the UK the legal ability to zero rate women’s sanitary products.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Power Failures: York Central

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many unplanned power outages there have been in the York Central area in each year since 2010.

Claire Perry: The Ofgem regulatory standard for an interruption to power supply is a loss of power for three minutes or more. The unplanned power outages for the York Central area from 2010 to the 25th September 2018 are set out in the table below and shows a 51% decrease in power outages in December 2017 to those in December 2010.  York Central area*Calendar YearUnplanned power outages**201045220114712012490201345720143352015422201640420172202018 to 25th September 2018245

Energy: Billing

Ms Angela Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether his Department has made an estimate of the number of energy customers in Wallasey constituency who are on (a) standard variable tariffs and (b) a default tariff.

Claire Perry: The Department collects tariff data on households based on the Public Electricity Suppliers regions, however, the department is not able to provide estimates at a lower, local level. Data for the split of customers on fixed and variable tariffs by region is available for electricity and gas in tables 2.4.2 and 2.5.2 respectively, using the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/quarterly-domestic-energy-price-stastics.

Offshore Industry: Continental Shelf

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to section 3.8, page 28 of Oil and Gas UK’s Economic Report 2018, published on 11 September 2018, what steps he is taking to encourage an increase in drilling activity on the UK Continental Shelf for oil and gas reserves that are more expensive to extract.

Claire Perry: The Government created the Oil and Gas Authority (OGA) to regulate, influence and promote the UK oil and gas industry in order to maximise the economic recovery of the UK’s oil and gas resources. The OGA has developed an exploration strategy (https://www.ogauthority.co.uk/news-publications/publications/2016/exploration-strategy/), with strong input from the industry and government, which includes working with the industry to enhance exploration investment, integrate exploration into regional development plans, and license underexplored and more mature areas of the UK Continental Shelf (UKCS).The Government has also provided £45 million of funding for seismic acquisition programmes in under-explored areas of the UKCS to support this activity.In May 2018, the OGA offered for award 123 licences over 229 blocks or part-blocks to 61 companies in the 30th Offshore Licensing Round. These successful awards act as a strong platform for future exploration and production across the UKCS and can help transform exploration activity levels.

Offshore Industry: Continental Shelf

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many (a) subsea and (b) platform wells were decommissioned on the UK Continental Shelf in each year since 2015.

Claire Perry: BEIS records show that three Decommissioning programmes were approved in the year 2016 listing 76 wells to be decommissioned in the UKCS and in 2017 eight decommissioning programmes were approved listing 55 wells to be decommissioned. We do not have this information broken down into those which are (a) subsea and (b) platform wells.

New Businesses: Females

Giles Watling: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he has made an assessment of the effectiveness of Growth Hubs in supporting women who want to start and grow a business; and if he will make a statement.

Kelly Tolhurst: There are currently 38 Growth Hubs across England, led and governed by Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs), providing free and impartial advice and support to anyone wishing to start and a grow a business. At March 2018, Local Enterprise Partnerships have self-reported that since 2015 their Growth Hubs have helped over 26,000 entrepreneurs start their own business. There are now 1.1 million women-led small and medium-sized businesses in the UK and I want to see that number grow. Access to finance is key area that can support that aim and I am pleased to report that the government-supported Start-Up Loans Company has provided loans worth nearly £436 million to those wishing to start a business, of which nearly 40% have been given to female entrepreneurs at March 2018.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy: Temporary Employment

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many staff in his Department are classified as contingent labour.

Richard Harrington: The Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy publishes this information on an annual basis in the Annual Report and Accounts as part of the Staff Report. Contingent labour is disclosed as “Other”. This is available here:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/beis-annual-report-and-accounts-2017-to-2018

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy: Brexit

Alan Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the 2018-19 Main Estimates, how much funding his Department has allocated to prepare for the UK to leave the EU.

Kelly Tolhurst: HM Treasury has already allocated over £2 billion of additional funding to departments and the devolved administrations for EU exit preparations so far. A full breakdown of how this was allocated to departments can be found in my rt. hon. Friend the Chief Secretary to the Treasury’s Written Ministerial Statement, HCWS540, made on the 13 March 2018: https://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-statement/Commons/2018-03-13/HCWS540/.

Citizens Advice: Merseyside

Ms Angela Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what the level of Government funding for the Citizens Advice Service in (a) Wirral and (b) Merseyside was in each of the last five years.

Kelly Tolhurst: This is not information that central government either holds or requests since funding for local Citizens Advice, including those in the Wirral and Merseyside, is provided by local not central government.

Global Navigation Satellite Systems

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate he has made of the (a) cost to and (b) liabilities on the public purse of developing a UK alternative to the Galileo satellite navigation system.

Mr Sam Gyimah: I refer the hon Member to the answer I gave her on 16th July 2018 to Question 162553. Since that response, my rt. hon. Friend the Prime Minister announced on 28 August that the UK Space Agency would look at options for a UK Global Navigation Satellite System, using £92m of funds from the Government’s Brexit readiness fund. This work will refine and validate the cost estimates for a UK system that have already been developed, and define the preferred approach to deliver a UK system which will be subject to a full business case. Contracts in support of this phase have yet to be let and so there are no new liabilities for the public purse.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy: Living Wage

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many (a) direct employees, (b) agency staff and (c) outsourced staff working in (i) his Department and (ii) agencies of his Department are paid less than the (A) national and (B) London living wage as defined by the Living Wage Foundation.

Richard Harrington: There are no direct employees in the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy paid less than the National or London Living Wage as defined by the Living Wage Foundation. All of BEIS agency staff and contractors are required to comply with all relevant legislation and are therefore required to pay at least the National Living Wage as a minimum starting salary. I have asked Chief Executives of the Executive Agencies to respond directly to the Hon Member and these are attached.



Letter from Executive Agenciesto Caroline Lucas MP
(PDF Document, 194.64 KB)

Small Businesses: Billing

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many (a) businesses have used the Small Business Commissioner's website to resolve late payment disputes, (b) late payment cases have been resolved and (c) large companies have changed their payment practices as a result of the intervention of the Commissioner.

Kelly Tolhurst: Nine enquiries of late payment disputes have been processed by the Small Business Commissioner’s complaints scheme. Of these, eight have resulted in the recovery of later payments with the other being resolved by private negotiation. The Commissioner is championing changes to the payment culture in a number of different ways, including raising awareness as well as seeking to resolve complaints received. For example, two large businesses have stated they will change their payment practice to offer SMEs preferential terms following the SBC’s direct intervention.

Small Businesses: Billing

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what progress his Department has made on strengthening the Prompt Payment Code; and whether he plans to include in the Code a (a) formal accreditation and (b) revalidation process.

Kelly Tolhurst: The UK is home to 5.7 million small businesses. These businesses are the backbone of our economy and a key part of our modern Industrial Strategy is ensuring we remain one of the best places in Europe to start and grow a small business. The Department has now launched a call for evidence on how to eliminate unfair payment practices to small businesses. The call for evidence is open for 8 weeks, and seeks views on how we can build on the government’s existing late payment policies, including the Prompt Payment Code, to drive an end to late payments to the UK’s 5.7 million small businesses.

Small Businesses: Billing

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many complaints his Department has received from suppliers dissatisfied with the late payment practices of companies that have signed up to the Prompt Payment Code.

Kelly Tolhurst: The Chartered Institute of Credit Management administers the Code on behalf of the Department and therefore also manage the complaints process. The Department does not hold figures on the number of complaints received. If a supplier thinks a business is in breach of the Prompt Payment Code, we encourage them to alert the Code Compliance Board who will investigate and take further action as required.

Industrial Disputes: Ballots

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to his answer of 18 July 2018 to Question 163805 on Industrial Disputes: Ballots, when that meeting is planned to take place; and who the invitees will be.

Kelly Tolhurst: The Department will, in due course, arrange a round table involving relevant organisations and professionals to discuss and seek their advice and recommendations concerning Sir Ken Knight’s report on his review of electronic balloting for industrial action. We will invite representatives from the range of interested groups including employer and employee representative bodies.

Agency Workers

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will make an estimate of the number of people employed by umbrella companies.

Kelly Tolhurst: The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy holds no data on the number of people employed by umbrella companies.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

USA: International Criminal Court

Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with US counterparts on the International Criminal Court.

Mark Field: The UK is clear that the International Criminal Court (ICC) has the capacity to play an important role in ending impunity for the most serious international crimes. It has our support in pursuing the mandate it was given under the Rome Statute. The Foreign Secretary raised the ICC with US Secretary of State Pompeo recently and highlighted the UK’s ongoing support for international criminal justice and accountability.​

Burma: International Criminal Court

Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he had with his US counterpart on a possible referral of the situation in Myanmar to the International Criminal Court.

Mark Field: Following the release of the UN Fact Finding Mission summary report on 27 August, UK officials urgently discussed the report and its recommendations with US officials. These include the recommendations that the Security Council refers to about the situation in Burma, to the International Criminal Court. The Foreign Secretary and I addressed accountability with the US and, a range of other counterparts at the UN General Assembly in late September. Our assessment is that there is still insufficient support within the Security Council for referral to the ICC. We will continue to keep this under constant review.

Cambodia: Human Rights

Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his counterpart in Cambodia on the political freedoms in that country.

Mark Field: We take every opportunity to raise our concerns about political freedoms in Cambodia. I expressed my dismay about the recent elections and the fact that there was no credible opposition to Prime Minister Hun Sen, Deputy Prime Minister Sar Kheng and Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn during my visit to Cambodia from 21-23 August. I also met leading representatives of civil society during the visit, to hear about the ongoing challenges they face and what more we can do to assist them. At the 39th UN Human Rights Council on 11 September, the UK urged Cambodian authorities to lift restrictions on political debate and media freedom, drop all charges against and restrictions on opposition leader Kem Sokha, and create the conditions for a proper functioning democracy.We shall continue to work closely with the EU and other like-minded partners, to press the Cambodian authorities to take further steps towards restoring the conditions for a fully functioning multi-party democracy.​

Turkey: Forests

Joan Ryan: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to his Turkish counterpart on the forest fires in the Turkish province of Tunceli.

Sir Alan Duncan: I have not discussed the recent forest fires in Tunceli province with the Turkish Foreign Minister. However, I am aware that the Governor of the province said in mid-August, that the authorities were doing all they could to put out the fires, which were later extinguished.

Turkey: Forests

Joan Ryan: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the effectiveness of the Turkish Government’s efforts to extinguish forest fires in (a) the Turkish province of Tunceli and (b) other Turkish regions with high ethnic minority populations; and if he will make an assessment of the effect of those fires on those ethnic minority populations.

Sir Alan Duncan: I have no reason to question the effectiveness of the Turkish authorities in tackling forest fires, in Tunceli or any other part of Turkey. Under the circumstances I am unable to assess the impact on local communities of the fires.

Turkey: Forests

Joan Ryan: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what support the Government has provided to the Alevi community in the Turkish province of Tunceli following forest fires in that region.

Sir Alan Duncan: We have not provided specific support to any part of Tunceli's community following the fires, and no Turkish request had been made to us for help.

Emergency Travel Documents

Jo Stevens: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of providing emergency travel documents from UK embassies in each of the last five years.

Harriett Baldwin: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Israel: Palestinians

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions his Department has had with the Government of Israel following the Israel Supreme Court’s decision to reject an appeal on the demolition of the village of Khan al-Ahmar.

Alistair Burt: ​Our Ambassador to Tel Aviv discussed the issue of Khan Al Ahmar with the Israeli authorities on 17 September. We remain gravely concerned by proposals to demolish the Bedouin community of Khan al-Ahmar which the UN has said could amount to ‘forcible transfer’, in violation of International Humanitarian Law. Following the decision of the Israeli Supreme Court on 5 September, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office issued a statement with France, Germany, Spain and Italy, reiterating our call to the Israeli Government not to go ahead with its plan to demolish the village – including its school – and displace its residents. We will continue to raise concerns with the Israeli authorities as opportunities arise.

Iran: Kurds

Jack Lopresti: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to the Iranian Government in relation to the recent missile attack on an Iranian Kurdish camp in Koya in the Kurdistan region in Iraq; and if he will make a statement.

Alistair Burt: The UK has been following recent events in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region of Iraq with concern.Following the attack near Koya, Her Majesty's Ambassador to the Republic of Iraq travelled to Kurdistan Region of Iraq to speak to all parties alongside Consul General Erbil. On 13 September the Ambassador publicly condemned the attacks as disproportionate and dangerous.Her Majesty's Ambassador to the Islamic Republic of Iran regularly raises our concerns over Iran's destabilising activity in the region, pressing the Government of Iran to play a more constructive role. Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials continue to engage regularly on this and other issues with Iran at all levels.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Temporary Employment

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many staff in his Department are classified as contingent labour.

Sir Alan Duncan: As at 1 October 2018, the FCO had 104 contingent workers.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Staff

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many staff (a) are employed directly by (b) are seconded to and (c) work under contract to his Department.

Sir Alan Duncan: As of 31 August 2018, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office has:a) 4,544 UK-based staff employed directly (of which 583 are on inward interchange loan from other government departments);b) five staff on secondment;c) 95 staff on contract to the FCO.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Living Wage

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many staff in his Department that work (a) inside and (b) outside Greater London are paid at a rate below the  Real Living Wage.

Sir Alan Duncan: No Foreign and Commonwealth Office UK-based staff are paid at a rate below the Real Living Wage either inside or outside Greater London.

Syria: Druze

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has held with his international counterparts on securing the release of Druze hostages in Syria.

Alistair Burt: We condemn the killing and kidnapping of Syrians from the Druze community, including women and children, by Daesh in Sweida, southern Syria, in July 2018. Officials in London and at our Embassy in Beirut have met with members with the Druze community to discuss the attacks. As a leading member of the Global Coalition against Daesh, we remain strongly committed to the defeat of Daesh and to justice for its victims.

China: Detainees

Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 23 July 2018 to Question 165671 on China: Detainees, what recent estimate he has made of the level of internment of members of the Uighur minority in political re-education camps in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China.

Mark Field: There are no official figures detailing the number of people detained in the re-education camps in Xinjiang. However, credible reports estimate that at least one million Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities have been held in these camps.The UK Government has serious concerns about the human rights situation in Xinjiang and reports of the Chinese Government’s deepening crackdown, including re-education camps, and wide spread surveillance and restrictions targeted at ethnic minorities. I raised our concerns about Xinjiang with Vice Minister Guo Yezhou during my visit to China on 22 July 2018. The Foreign Secretary, Rt Hon Jeremy Hunt MP, also raised our concerns about the region with Chinese State Councillor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his visit to China in July 2018.​

Yemen: Armed Conflict

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he had with his Emirati counterpart in London last week on the conflict in Yemen; and if he will make a statement.

Alistair Burt: The Foreign Secretary and I spoke to Emirati Minister for Foreign Affairs Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyun on 6 September in London regarding the political process and recent developments in Yemen. The UK is playing a leading role in diplomatic efforts, including bringing together key international actors to try to find a peaceful solution. We continue regular discussions with all parties within the Coalition.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Living Wage

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many staff in his Department that work (a) inside and (b) outside Greater London are paid at a rate below the London Living Wage.

Sir Alan Duncan: No Foreign and Commonwealth Office UK-based staff are paid at a rate below the Real Living Wage either inside or outside Greater London.​

Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Working Hours

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what the contracted hours are for the highest paid member of staff in his Department.

Sir Alan Duncan: The contracted hours for the highest paid member of staff in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office are 42 hours per week, inclusive of a one hour paid lunch break each day.​

GCHQ and National Cyber Security Centre: Labour Turnover

Jo Platt: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what the average tenure is of a cyber specialist working at (a) GCHQ and (b) the National Cyber Security Centre.

Sir Alan Duncan: For reasons of national security, we are unable to disclose a breakdown of average tenures for cyber specialists working at Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) and the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC).

Cabinet Office

Government: Procurement

Frank Field: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the Government's policy is on procuring (a) goods and (b) services from UK companies.

Oliver Dowden: Public sector purchasing authorities are required to seek value for money for goods and services through fair and open competition, social value and in line with our current international obligations. The Government has also extended the requirements of the Public Services (Social Value Act 2012) to ensure that all major procurements explicitly evaluate Social Value where appropriate. The Government wants UK companies to be successful in public procurement. The best way to bring this about is for those companies to offer the goods and services we need at quality levels and whole-life costs representing value for money. To this end the Government is seeking to ensure the huge purchasing power of government supports the task of boosting growth, and enables us to actively shape the UK market for the long term. Improving pre-procurement dialogue is a key part of that process, helping us develop a more strategic relationship with industry. The Government is providing industry with visibility of up to £191bn of potential procurement opportunities across 19 sectors. In addition, we are working with businesses to identify and address any key capabilities needed to meet future demand; actively helping them to remove barriers and supporting growth through additional benefits that boost exports and drive innovation.

Cabinet Office: Living Wage

Gareth Snell: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many staff in his Department that work (a) inside and (b) outside Greater London are paid at a rate below the Real Living Wage.

Oliver Dowden: No staff in Cabinet Office, No.10 and its agencies that work inside Greater London are paid at a rate below the Real Living Wage for London of £10.20 per hour.No staff in Cabinet Office, No.10 and its agencies that work outside Greater London are paid at a rate below the National Real Living Wage of £8.75 per hour.

Cabinet Office: Living Wage

Gareth Snell: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many staff in his Department that work (a) inside and (b) outside Greater London are paid at a rate below the London Living Wage.

Oliver Dowden: No staff in Cabinet Office, No.10 and its agencies that work inside Greater London are paid at a rate below the London Living Wage of £10.20 per hour.A total of 85 staff in Cabinet Office, No.10 and its agencies that work outside Greater London are paid at a rate below the London Living Wage of £10.20 per hour. They are all paid above the National Real Living Wage.

Cabinet Office: Working Hours

Gareth Snell: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the weekly contracted hours are for the highest paid member of staff in his Department.

Oliver Dowden: The weekly contracted hours for the highest paid member of staff in Cabinet Office, No.10 and its agencies is 41. However, people in senior roles will routinely work much longer hours than this.

Census: Gender Recognition and Sexuality

Sarah Champion: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the Census (Amendment) Bill before the Scottish Parliament, whether he has plans to include in the 2021 Census White Paper, proposals to include questions on (a) sexual orientation and (b) transgender status for England and Wales.

Chloe Smith: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.



UKSA response 
(PDF Document, 72.12 KB)

Government Departments: Procurement

Bill Esterson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the commitments made by the UK at the Anti-Corruption Summit 2016, when the Crown Commercial Service plans to introduce a new check to prevent corrupt bidders winning public contracts.

Bill Esterson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the commitments made by the UK Government at the Anti-Corruption Summit 2016, how an additional conviction check at the Crown Commercial Service will complement existing checks on convictions.

Oliver Dowden: The Government committed in its Anti-Corruption Strategy 2017-2022 to trial in the Crown Commercial Service, a new conviction check. The purpose of the trial was to establish whether convictions data could be accessed at source to undertake conviction checks on preferred bidders on behalf of Government departments and complement existing provisions in the Public Contracts Regulations 2015. The trial is now complete and Cabinet Office is analysing the results before identifying a preferred approach and timescales for implementation.

Government Departments: Procurement

Bill Esterson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will make it his policy to require bidders to declare (a) convictions under Section 7 of the Bribery Act 2010 and (b) similar additional information in pre-contract questionnaires.

Oliver Dowden: The Public Contracts Regulations 2015 provide an exhaustive list of the grounds on which a bidder must or can be excluded from a procurement procedure, which are derived from the EU Procurement Directives. The grounds on which a bidder can be excluded on a discretionary basis include where the bidder is guilty of grave professional misconduct, which renders its integrity questionable. Where a bidder has committed serious offences, such as an offence under Section 7 of the Bribery Act 2010, this may give rise to grounds for exclusion. The particular circumstances would be considered on a case by case basis by the relevant procuring authority, including any evidence of self-cleaning put forward by the bidder.

Public Sector: Procurement

Bill Esterson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the UK has excluded a company from public procurement for reasons of corruption.

Oliver Dowden: Exclusion decisions in public procurement are taken by individual contracting authorities and government does not hold this data centrally.

Cabinet Office: Temporary Employment

Jon Trickett: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many staff in his Department are classified as contingent labour.

Oliver Dowden: In Quarter 1 (April, May and June 18/19) Cabinet Office had 323 Contingent Labour workers.

Local Government: Elections

Jo Stevens: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the number of people turned away from polling booths during the Voter ID pilot at the Local Elections was in comparison to the number of people charged with voter ID fraud over the last five years.

Chloe Smith: The Government is committed to making sure that our electoral system is fit for the future. Vulnerabilities cannot be allowed to undermine the integrity of our democracy. The Electoral Commission collates and publishes information on allegations of electoral fraud at elections each year. Reports for 2014 - 2017 polls are available on the Electoral Commission website and a report covering polls held in 2018 will be published in due course. The success of the voter ID pilots proves that this is a reasonable and proportionate measure and voters were fully aware of the changes on polling day. The overwhelming majority of electors who turned up to vote did so with the right documents and had confidence in knowing how to cast their vote. The evaluations of the voter ID pilots which include data on the number of people turned away from polling stations can be found at:https://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/find-information-by-subject/electoral-fraud/voter-identification-pilot-schemes https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/733128/Electoral_Integrity_Project_-_Local_Elections_2018_-_Evaluation.pdf

Constituencies

Jo Stevens: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the total cost to the public purse was of the Boundary Commission Review.

Chloe Smith: The information is not yet available. Figures for expenditure over each previous financial year are published by the separate Boundary Commissions for England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland as part of their annual reports.

Knives: Crime

Jo Stevens: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many criminal incidents which included the use of a bladed weapon were reported to the police in England and Wales in each of the last five years.

Chloe Smith: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply and I would be depositing a copy in the Library of both Houses.



UKSA response 
(PDF Document, 71.4 KB)

Cybercrime: USA

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 12 October 2017 to Question 106493 on Cybercrime: USA, whether the National Cyber Security Centre plans to publish the outcome of its pilot; and if he will make a statement.

Mr David Lidington: The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) has committed to publish its findings when the ongoing review of the pilot of the model to receive, review and remediate vulnerability disclosures concludes. This will involve an update on the NCSC website, along with an ISO/IEC 29147 compliant vulnerability disclosure process.

Small Businesses: Billing

Bill Esterson: To ask the Minister of the Cabinet Office, what steps he is taking to ensure that all Government suppliers are signatories of the Prompt Payment Code.

Oliver Dowden: In 2015 the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy strengthened the Prompt Payment Code. The majority of government's 28 strategic suppliers are signatories the Prompt Payment Code, promising to pay suppliers, including small businesses in their supply chain, promptly and fairly. A list of these signed suppliers has been published on GOV.UK. Payment practices of those strategic suppliers who are not signatories to the Code, are regularly monitored to ensure that they are in line with the aims of prompt payment policy. In addition, all public sector buyers must have 30 day payment terms in their contracts and through their supply chains; they must also publish their payment performance bi-annually.

Department of Health and Social Care

NHS: Staff

Kate Hollern: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has made preparations for reduced staff levels in the NHS in the event that the UK leaves the EU with no deal.

Stephen Barclay: We do not want or expect a no deal scenario. As a result of the significant progress made in negotiations, we remain confident we will agree a mutually advantageous deal with the European Union. We are not, however, complacent, and have plans in place in the event the United Kingdom leaves the EU with no deal. Our overall programme of work is comprehensive, thorough and continuously updated. We have been clear from the beginning of this process that we want EU nationals currently working in the National Health Service to stay after we leave the EU and we are working to safeguard their future, regardless of the outcome of the negotiations. The Department continues to monitor and analyse overall staffing levels across the NHS and, and we are working across Government to ensure there will continue to be sufficient staff to deliver the high quality services on which patients rely following the UK’s exit from the EU

Medicine: Education

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much the NHS spends on (a) supporting and (b) promoting careers in medicine to young people from deprived communities.

Stephen Barclay: This information is not collected centrally. Health Education England operates a widening participation programme which aims to develop a healthcare workforce that can relate to and be representative of the communities it serves. The programme includes specific activity conducted through the Sutton Trust’s Pathways to Medicine Programme, that relates to widening access to medical careers for under-represented groups and people of disadvantage. As part of this, Health Education England has established a five-year partnership with the Sutton Trust, backed by investment of over £210,000 over the five years, to work with two universities, in supporting around 300 individuals from under-represented groups and disadvantaged backgrounds to enter medical training. There around 550 participants who have gone through or are going through the programme.

Allergies: Medical Treatments

Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the timeframe is to resolve the national shortage of EpiPen 0.3mg Auto-Injectors.

Steve Brine: Departmental officials are in regular contact with Mylan, the United Kingdom licensed supplier of Epipens, as there have been ongoing supply issues affecting this product. Supplies are currently available of the 0.3mg, although limited, and are being closely managed to ensure that pharmacies can obtain stock to fulfil prescription for patients. Mylan anticipates that supplies will stabilize in the fourth quarter of 2018.

General Practitioners: Data Protection

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will clarify whether (a) pursuant to the Answer of 6 September 2018 to Question 168973, GP practices will not be allowed to charge third parties for subject access to patient medical records or (b) pursuant to the Answer of 12 July 2018 to Question 162134, the right of access under GDPR confers more personal information than is needed or is justified for insurance underwriting. Accordingly, insurance companies should instead use the established mechanism of the Access to Medical Reports Act 1988 (AMRA) to obtain summary medical reports from general practitioners (GPs).

Steve Brine: According to the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), general practitioners (GPs) cannot charge patients or third parties for subject access to patient medical records, except where the request is manifestly unfounded or excessive and where the third party is an insurance company. Where the access request is deemed manifestly unfounded or excessive, the GP can either refuse the request or charge an appropriate administration charge for the work involved. Also, where the third party is an insurance company, the Access to Medical Reports Act (AMRA) 1988 would apply. The AMRA allows the GP to charge a reasonable fee to cover the cost of copying the report.

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Mr Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of funding for research into the causes of ME; and if he will make a statement.

Caroline Dinenage: The Department’s National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) recognises that myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME), also known as chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), is a debilitating condition. Since 2011, the NIHR has provided £3.37 million of programmes funding for projects and training on CFS/ME. Several of the NIHR’s Biomedical Research Centres also carry out research into CFS/ME, with project funding provided by the Medical Research Council and CFS/ME charities. The NIHR welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including ME; it is not usual practice to ring-fence funds for particular topics or conditions. Applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made on the basis of the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, value for money and scientific quality.

NHS Leadership Academy

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how and where the NHS Leadership Academy's courses are delivered.

Stephen Barclay: The NHS Leadership Academy’s courses take many forms and are delivered in a variety of ways responsive to the identified requirement or request. The Academy offers a range of tools, models, programmes and expertise which may include:- Online learning - virtual campus, which includes programme films, interactive content, academic content, assignments, discussion forums and online resources;- Face to face workshops, action learning sets, development days, networks, working with expert facilitators delivered either at the National Leadership Academy main office in Leeds or locally around the country;- European exchange/study visits;- Work based application and placements; and- Onsite bespoke delivery.

NHS: Staff

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has compiled information on the number of NHS staff whose immigration status would be affected by the UK leaving the EU without a deal.

Stephen Barclay: We do not want or expect a no deal scenario. As a result of the significant progress made in negotiations, we remain confident we will agree a mutually advantageous deal with the European Union. We have been clear from the beginning of this process that we want EU nationals currently working in the National Health Service to stay after we leave the EU and we are working to safeguard their future, regardless of the outcome of the negotiations. They, and their close family members, will be able to apply to the EU Settlement Scheme to secure their settled status. This offer will stand irrespective of whether a deal is reached by the time the United Kingdom leaves the EU. As of March 2018 there were around 63,000 EU excluding UK nationals employed in NHS trusts and clinical commissioning groups, or 5.2% of all employees, who would be eligible to apply for such a scheme.

Nurses

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the report, Leak reveals worst case scenario for nursing after Brexit, published by the Health Service Journal on 6 April 2017, whether the information contained in the report was made public by his Department.

Stephen Barclay: It has been the policy of successive Governments not to comment on specific leaks and the Government takes such incidents very seriously. Leaks are investigated thoroughly and effectively, with established policies and procedures in place.

Drugs

Anne Marie Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the money that would be accrued to the public purse of the introduction of charges by NICE for companies whose products are selected for technology appraisal.

Anne Marie Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse in foregone (a) tax and (b) other revenues in the event that NICE introduces charges for technology appraisals and companies choose not to launch products in England.

Anne Marie Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made an assessment of the potential effectiveness of options available to NICE other than charging for technology appraisals to tackle changes in the level of its central Government funding; and if he will make a statement.

Steve Brine: The Department published a consultation on 10 August titled ‘NICE's technology appraisal and highly specialised technology work programmes – Charging and Appeal Panels’ which ran until 14 September 2018. Prior to the consultation, the Department and the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE) considered a number of options as well as charging. These are described in the consultation document and Impact Assessment which are published at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/nice-recommendations-charging-and-appeal-panels The document also explains that based on current activity levels and the proposed charges, NICE expects it would generate £10 million per annum from charging and that, should charges be introduced, they would be reviewed after years one and two and periodically thereafter to ensure that there is no detrimental impact on the willingness of companies, including small companies, to launch products in the United Kingdom. The Government will carefully consider comments received in response to the consultation and will publish its response in due course.

Radiotherapy

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what facilities in the UK offer high-energy proton beam cancer therapy treatment in (a) the NHS and (b) the private sector.

Steve Brine: In April 2012, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care announced that £250 million would be invested to build proton beam therapy facilities at The Christie Hospital in Manchester and University College London Hospital (UCLH). Contracts were signed with Varian Medical Systems, Interserve Construction at The Christie, and Bouygues UK at UCLH at the end of July 2015. The Christie has been operational since 20 August 2018 and expects the first patients to be treated in the autumn. UCLH is currently on schedule to begin treating patients in summer 2020. NHS England does not hold information about high-energy proton beam provision in the private sector.

Radiotherapy

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many NHS England patients have been treated with high-energy proton beam cancer therapy in England and Wales in each of the last five years.

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many NHS patients have been treated with high-energy proton beam cancer therapy overseas in each of the last five years; and what the cost to the NHS was of those treatments by (a) treatment and (b) travel and subsistence costs.

Steve Brine: NHS England has not funded any patients to have high-energy proton beam therapy in England and Wales in the last five years. Over the past five years, 895 National Health Service patients have been treated overseas with high-energy proton beam therapy at a total cost of just over £91 million. These figures include patients from England, Scotland and Northern Ireland but exclude patients from Wales. NHS England does not routinely split financial information between treatment and travel/subsistence costs. Further detail is provided in the following table.   2013/142014/152015/162016/172017/18TotalNumber of patients approved for referral119144213203216895Total cost£9.13 million£12.63 million£20.81 million£24.51 million£24.19 million£91.27 million

Radiotherapy

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the capacity of high-energy proton beam cancer therapy in the UK for NHS patients.

Steve Brine: During the development of the business case for the Department for the NHS Proton Beam Therapy (PBT) centres, an assessment of the internationally accepted standard clinical indications that are likely to benefit from PBT was made, and the associated patient numbers, together with an assessment of the numbers and types of patients for whom further clinical trials and evaluative studies are justified. This will allow all appropriate paediatric and teenage and young adult patients with a paediatric spectrum of tumours to be accommodated. It is essential that a robust evidence base is established for specific situations in commoner adult cancers where there is currently little, if no evidence of superior outcomes, hence the research capacity built in to the programme. NHS England is commissioning two PBT Centres in England based on this assessment and after reaching full capacity they should be able to treat up to 1,500 patients per annum.

Cannabis: Medical Treatments

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he has had with the Home Secretary on the potential effect of legalising cannabis-oil medicines on the availability of cannabis as a gateway drug for social use.

Steve Brine: The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care has committed to his officials working closely with the Home Office on legalising the use of cannabis-based medicines, including cannabis-oil. There has not been a meeting between the Secretary of State and the Home Secretary on the potential effect of legalising cannabis-oil medicines on the availability of cannabis as a gateway drug for social use. An impact assessment is being prepared alongside proposals to consider wider impacts of this policy. There are known harms associated with cannabis use and cannabis remains a controlled drug. The Government has no plans to legalise it for recreational use. As with other medicines in Schedule 2 to the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001 (such as morphine and fentanyl), it will continue to be an offence contrary to the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 to possess a cannabis based medicine without prescription or lawful authority.

Health Services: British Nationals Abroad

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department has taken to seek to ensure the continuity of British citizens’ entitlement to health care in EU Member States via form S1 in the event that the UK leaves the EU.

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans his Department has to ensure that UK citizens residing in the EU continue to receive healthcare coverage in the event that the UK leaves the EU without a deal.

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the Government plans to cover the cost of health insurance for UK citizens living in the EU in the event of the UK leaving the EU without a deal.

Stephen Barclay: The United Kingdom Government has made good progress in negotiations on the Citizens’ Rights section of the Withdrawal Agreement. This will provide reassurance regarding healthcare cover to the many UK nationals who have made their lives in other European Union countries (including people who have this entitlement as a result of the S1 form). The UK Government remains focused on securing a broader agreement with the EU on reciprocal healthcare rights as part of the UK’s future relationship with the EU. It has made clear in the White Paper of June 2018, ‘The Future Relationship Between the United Kingdom and the European Union’, that it is seeking agreement on reciprocal healthcare cover for state pensioners retiring to the EU or the UK, continued participation in the European Health Insurance Card scheme and cooperation on planned medical treatment. The UK Government is confident that getting a good deal that works for both the EU and the UK is, by far, the most likely outcome. We do not want or expect a no deal outcome. However, as a responsible Government we are preparing for every eventuality and, in the absence of a deal, we are considering a range of contingency plans. We are building our understanding of what is required in member states to protect the safety of both UK and EU patients in all scenarios, including no deal.

General Practitioners: Easington

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to NHS Digital General and Personal Medical Services workforce data,  for what reason the number of patients per FTE GP has increased in Easington constituency since March 2016.

Steve Brine: The number of patients per full time equivalent general practitioner (GP) in Easington is not currently published within the NHS Digital General and Personal Medical Services workforce data. When assessing primary care capacity, it is important to also consider wider workforce within primary care. Many practices have increased capacity for patient care through increasing the skills mix within practice clinical teams including nurse practitioners, specialist nurses to manage those patients with chronic diseases, emergency care practitioners and pharmacists. This is something that is particularly the case within the Durham Dales, Easington and Sedgefield geographical area and is something that the Durham Dales, Easington and Sedgefield Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) advises they have both supported and encouraged. Durham Dales, Easington and Sedgefield CCG advises that its primary care strategy outlines a general practice five point plan. This includes support for GPs considering retirement to encourage them to stay in general practice longer; giving GPs the flexibility of working across many sites; incentivising GPs to work in this alternative model across several practices as opposed to being a locum; and the GP Career Start initiative aimed at attracting GPs who are looking for the opportunity to take up a post in general practice at an early point in their career and recruiting new GPs from Europe. This strategy is currently being implemented.

First Aid: Medical Equipment

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the (a) adequacy of supply and (b) demand for bleeding control packs in designated public places.

Stephen Barclay: NHS England has made no formal assessment on adequacy of supply and demand for bleeding control packs in designated public places.

Mental Health Services: Children and Young People

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many patients under the age of (a) 25 and (b) 16 have been referred out of the area for mental health treatment in each year since 2009.

Matt Hancock: The information requested is not available.

Mental Health Services: Yorkshire and the Humber

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the average waiting time is for a mental health bed in Yorkshire and the Humber in each year since 2008-09.

Matt Hancock: This information is not available.

NHS Trusts: Standards

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to NHS Improvement, Performance of the NHS provider sector for the quarter ended 30 June 2018, what the underlying gross deficit was reported by trusts for the provider sector; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Barclay: The view of NHS Improvement, as stated in their quarterly performance report, is that the underlying deficit at the end of 2017-18 is £4.3 billion. As NHS Improvement has acknowledged, the £4.3 billion figure doesn’t include the Provider Sustainability Fund which is a recurrent part of National Health Service funding, and which is £2.45 billion for this financial year. NHS England and NHS Improvement are currently working to maximise the impact of this funding and support providers to improve their financial positions, in addition to our investment which will see the NHS receive £20.5 billion more than it already does by 2023-24.

Mental Capacity

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when the Government plans to implement the Law Commission's recommendations with regard to Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) under the Mental Capacity Act 2005; and if he will make a statement.

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to respond to the Joint Committee on Human Rights' inquiry into Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards; and if he will make a statement.

Caroline Dinenage: The Mental Capacity (Amendment) Bill was introduced into Parliament in July 2018 and the Bill has been published on the Parliament website. This implements the Law commission recommendations. The Government will provide a response to the Joint Committee of Human Rights report in due time.

Department of Health and Social Care: Temporary Employment

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many staff in his Department are classified as contingent labour.

Caroline Dinenage: As at the end of August 2018, the total number of contingent labour was 214 in the Department.

NHS: Negligence

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to reduce the number of medication errors made each year in the NHS.

Caroline Dinenage: The Department works with NHS Improvement, NHS England, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), Public Health England, and the Medication Safety Officer Network to improve the safety of medicine use across the National Health Service in England. The Medication Safety Programme, covering the NHS in England, has been established to take up the World Health Organization’s (WHO) global challenge to reduce the incidence of severe and avoidable harm in relation to medication globally by 50% over five years. Progress to date includes the publication of the Short Life Working Group into Reducing Medication Harm and the publication of an evidence-based review on the Prevalence and Economic Burden of Medication Errors in the NHS in England, which has helped the programme to understand the scale of the issue and identify key areas for improvement. Based on the findings of these reports, the Programme has established four domains: patients; medicines; healthcare professionals; and systems and practice, mirroring the WHO’s key recommendations. These domains will also focus on the three key priorities of polypharmacy, high risk situations, and transitions of care. The NHS Improvement Medicines Safety Team comprises senior pharmacists and pharmacy technicians who provide specialist insight to support medication safety across a range of healthcare settings in England. Their work covers several specific areas, including the identification of potentially new, rare or under recognised or emerging risks to patient safety related to medication; and the coordination of programmes of work with the Department, NHS England and MHRA through the Medication Safety Programme.

NHS: Negligence

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of the use of automated medicine cabinets on the level of deaths as a result of medication errors in the NHS.

Caroline Dinenage: Medicines administration processes are complex and technology can help support staff to prescribe and administer medicines safely. Medicine safety cabinets are used to replace or supplement ward-based medicine distribution processes. A number of differing automated medicines cabinets are available to the National Health Service in England. The introduction of automated cabinets is one component part of the full medicine distribution processes. When combined with other interventions, such as the extension of electronic prescribing systems, evidence suggests that fully integrated electronic prescribing and administration can reduce prescribing-based medication errors by approximately 50%.

NHS: Environment Protection

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what guidance he has issued to NHS establishments on improving environmental best practice.

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, (a) how many and (b) which hospital trust boards have a director in charge of improving environmental performance.

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent discussions he has had with (a) Royal Medical Colleges and (b) medical equipment suppliers on reducing the use of plastic in the NHS.

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what incentives he has introduced to promote environmental best practice in the NHS in the last 12 months.

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, which NHS premises produce their own energy; and what proportion of total energy consumption those premises produce.

Stephen Barclay: The Sustainable Development Unit (SDU) in Public Health England and NHS England, working with NHS Improvement, issued guidance in June to National Health Service providers to support improvements in environmental best practice. This can be found at: https://www.sduhealth.org.uk/resources/default.aspx In November 2017 the SDU also published the Sustainable Development Assessment Tool that helps organisations build and monitor progress against robust and comprehensive Sustainable Development Management Plans (SDMPs). The tool is aligned to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, United Kingdom Government and NHS policy and strategy. It can be found at the following link: https://www.sduhealth.org.uk/sdat/ In early 2018 the SDU also updated the criteria/scope on sustainability reporting, for NHS organisations in line with Treasury best practice. This can be found at the following link: https://www.sduhealth.org.uk/resources/default.aspx I have also held meetings with both NHS England and NHS Improvement to discuss how best to reduce the use of plastics across the NHS. Both the SDU and NHS Improvement hold a repository of best practice case studies across areas including energy and carbon, travel, waste and behaviour change. New case studies are published regularly and promoted to NHS organisations through monthly ebulletins and social media, which can be found at the following link: https://www.sduhealth.org.uk/resources/case-studies.aspx All NHS providers that are party to the Long Form NHS Standard Contract are required to have in place and report annually on a SDMP. SDMPs are board adopted plans that set out how NHS organisations will minimise negative impacts and maximise positive impacts on the environment, society and economy. Information about individual trust board appointments is not held centrally. Annual sustainability reports are now also required from all trusts and must be signed off by boards as part of the Annual Reporting process. Environmental data submitted through trusts Estates Record Information Collection (ERIC) must also be signed off by a board level representative. Information about individual trusts’ SDMPs, approved by the trust board, and about Sustainability Reports and environmental data from ERIC, at a trust level, can be found at the following link: https://www.sduhealth.org.uk/policy-strategy/reporting/organisational-summaries.aspx Ministers have had no recent meetings with the medical Royal Colleges or medical equipment suppliers about reducing the use of plastic in the NHS. The NHS, in common with all other healthcare systems, has to use some single-use plastic devices and other plastic items to deliver effective care to patients. NHS trusts do, however, minimise the impact of healthcare on the environment. Information on those NHS trusts that produce their own energy is collected annually through ERIC. Overall, 36% of the energy consumed by those sites is produced by them. Details are shown in the attached table. All ERIC data is published at the following link: https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/estates-returns-information-collection



PQ173930 attached document
(Excel SpreadSheet, 52.72 KB)

Child Sexual Abuse Independent Panel Inquiry

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 10 September 2018 to Question 170887, whether his Department plans to provide a formal response to the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse's report on Child Migrant Programmes, published on 1 March 2018 which is separate to the planned response from the Home Office to the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse's Interim Report, published on 25 April 2018.

Matt Hancock: We are currently carefully considering the findings and recommendations made in the Child Migration Programmes report by the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse and will respond in due course.

Paediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorders

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to improve (a) diagnosis and (b) treatment of paediatric autoimmune neuropsychiatric disease.

Matt Hancock: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Everolimus

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to improve access to Everolimus for patients with epilepsy related to tuberous sclerosis complex.

Steve Brine: Everolimus in the treatment of refractory epilepsy associated with tuberous sclerosis complex has been through the NHS England clinical policy development process and was considered by the Clinical Priorities Advisory Group (CPAG) as part of the May 2018 prioritisation round. CPAG determined that the treatment fell into the lower end of five levels of relative priority for funding, and therefore the decision has been taken to not routinely commission the treatment at this time. Everolimus will be considered again at the next prioritisation round in November and, should it be successful, funding would be made available from April 2019. One factor that can significantly influence the relative priority of a treatment is the price put forward by the manufacturer. In advance of Everolimus being considered again in November, the manufacturer has been given the opportunity to offer a revised price and submit any further evidence that may have become available since the last prioritisation round.

Department of Health and Social Care: Staff

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many staff (a) are employed directly by (b) are seconded to and (c) work under contract to his Department.

Caroline Dinenage: As at the end of August, the Department had:- 1,522 staff employed directly;- 76 people seconded in; and- 214 staff working under contract.

Department of Health and Social Care: Living Wage

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many staff in his Department that work (a) inside and (b) outside Greater London are paid at a rate below the Real Living Wage.

Caroline Dinenage: On 31 March 2018, at the Department no individuals working in the inner or outer London pay regions were paid less than the London Living Wage of £10.20. Similarly, no individuals in the national pay region were paid less than the United Kingdom Living Wage of £8.75.

General Practitioners: Merseyside

Ms Angela Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate his Department has made of the number of additional GPs that will be needed in (a) Merseyside and (b) Wirral by 2020.

Ms Angela Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the number of GP's has been in (a) the North West, (b) Merseyside, (c) Wirral and (d) Wallasey constituency in each of the last eight years.

Steve Brine: The number of general practitioners (GPs) (headcount), excluding retainers, registrars and locums, for the North West, Merseyside and the Wirral is available in the attached table. Figures are not available for Wallasey. Due to changes in the data source, comparisons before and after 2015 should be treated with caution. The General Practice Forward View, published in April 2016, committed to strengthening the general practice workforce and increasing the number of doctors in general practice by 5,000 full time equivalents. NHS England Cheshire and Merseyside advises it has a number of schemes in place to increase the GP workforce. This includes international recruitment and GP retention programmes. There are currently seven GPs in the Wirral on the GP Retention Scheme which supports GPs to remain in practice who are only able to do a maximum of four clinical session per week and includes protected time for continuing professional development and educational support. NHS England Cheshire and Merseyside has also recently secured £323,000 additional funding for further retention schemes in the local area. In addition, the Wirral is being supported to develop a GP sessional register to encourage GPs who prefer locum working in the area to become part of the wider primary care team, with the intention that they will apply for permanent positions.



PQ174630,631 attached document
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Department of Health and Social Care: NHS Property Board

Karin Smyth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many meetings of the NHS Property Board (a) he and (b) Ministers of his Department have attended in 2018 to date.

Karin Smyth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will publish the (a) agendas and (b) attendance records of the NHS Property Board.

Karin Smyth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the NHS Property Board will be making a submission to the development of the long-term plan for the NHS.

Stephen Barclay: The NHS Property Board has been established to provide leadership and strategic direction to the National Health Service on estates matters. As part of this, it will seek to ensure that estates issues are appropriately addressed in the long-term plan being developed by the NHS. The NHS Property Board and its constituent members are ensuring that local estates plans, supported by the strategic estates planning team, are grounded in local clinical strategies and adaptable to changes in demand. The Board is chaired by the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Health (Lord O’Shaughnessy). He has chaired six of the seven Board meetings that have taken place in 2018 but was unable to attend the July meeting due to parliamentary business. No other Ministers have attended any meetings. The Board also includes senior representatives from the Department of Health and Social Care and other key Government Departments, NHS England, NHS Improvement, NHS Property Services and Community Health Partnerships. Meetings of the NHS Property Board are held in closed session due to the confidential nature of items discussed.

NHS Property Board

Karin Smyth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether NHS Property Services will be making a submission to the development of the long term plan for the NHS.

Stephen Barclay: The Government has asked National Health Service leaders to produce a new ten-year plan for the NHS, underpinned by a five-year funding settlement which will see the NHS budget grow by over £20.5 billion a year in real terms by 2023-24. As it develops the long-term plan, the NHS has been engaging with system leaders, patients and the public for their views including through a consultation which closed 30 September. NHS Property Services has not made a formal submission but instead works closely with its NHS partners to ensure the funding, design and utilisation of its healthcare facilities features appropriately in all future development plans.

NHS: Living Wage

Karin Smyth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many wholly-owned companies formed by (a) NHS Trusts and (b) NHS Foundation Trusts pay staff below the Living Wage.

Karin Smyth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many wholly-owned companies formed by (a) NHS Trusts and (b) NHS Foundation Trusts operate (i) bonus schemes and (ii) other financial incentives schemes for their senior staff.

Stephen Barclay: Neither the Department nor its arm’s length bodies holds data on how many wholly-owned companies formed by National Health Service trusts and NHS foundation trusts pay staff below the Living Wage nor any bonus or other financial schemes in place for senior staff at wholly-owned subsidiaries (WOSs), but we are aware that some NHS organisations use the flexibilities available to WOSs to offer higher pay to staff than would otherwise be possible. The decision to set up WOSs is for the relevant NHS organisations, based on whether they think establishing a WOS can help them make best use of available resources for the benefit of patients. Any benefits and/or other financial incentives paid to executive directors of WOSs would be included in their annual report and accounts.

Department of Health and Social Care: Living Wage

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many staff in his department that work (a) inside and (b) outside Greater London are paid at a rate below the London Living Wage.

Caroline Dinenage: On 31 March 2018, at the Department no individuals working in the inner or outer London pay regions were paid less than the London Living Wage of £10.20.

Department of Health and Social Care: Working Hours

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the contracted hours are for the highest paid member of staff in his Department.

Caroline Dinenage: Senior Civil Servants (SCS) are contracted to work a minimum (over a five day week) either 41 or 42 hours, including daily meal breaks for one hour. The new model contracts was introduced on 1 July 2013, which standardise the working hours to 42 hours which was applicable to all new staff as well as those staff being promoted into or within SCS, from that date forward.

Nurses: Training

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 19 April 2018 to Question 135248 on Nurses: Training, what the planned publication date is of that update.

Stephen Barclay: The Department does not have a confirmed planned publication date. It is working with its partners in health and education to determine the most appropriate way forward, in the context of the development of the long-term plan for the National Health Service and changes in the Higher Education system, including the establishment of the Office for Students.

Nurses: Training

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 23 April 2018 to Question 135422, when his Department plans to publish the information commissioned from UCAS on the number of applicants for university nursing courses in the 2018 undergraduate cycle by (a) by field of nursing and (b) English region.

Stephen Barclay: Health Education England commissioned data from the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) for the 2018 application cycle and this data was received by the Department for ongoing monitoring of nursing applications. This data was shared by UCAS under an agreement that requires it to be kept in confidence and used for internal purposes. The current application cycle finishes on 23 October and the Department has agreed a timetable with UCAS that allows this data to be published in December 2018.

Royal Liverpool Hospital

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of bringing the new Royal Liverpool hospital into public ownership.

Stephen Barclay: Following extensive discussions with the funders of the project, the Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University Hospitals NHS Trust concluded at their Board meeting on 25 September that the Private Finance Initiative agreement should be terminated, and the hospital should be completed under public ownership. The Government announced on 26 September that it supports this approach. This will minimise the delay to opening up this large new hospital for local patients, following the collapse of Carillion.

Health Professions: Suicide

Sir Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many (a) doctors and (b) dentists have died by suicide in each of the last five years; what the average age of such doctors and dentists was when they died; and whether he has plans to create a national service to help health professionals suffering from mental illnesses.

Stephen Barclay: This information is not collected centrally. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) does collect some data relating to the number of suicides registered in England and Wales between 2013 – 2017 where the occupation was recorded as medical practitioner or dental practitioner on the death certificate. This information is contained in the following tables. Number of deaths1Registration yearEnglandWales201320:2014183201514:201613:201718:Total836 Number of suicides in England and Wales for dental practitioners, deaths registered between 2013 and 2017. Number of deaths2Registration yearEnglandWales20133:20143:20153:20167:20173:Total193 Notes: 1For disclosure control, any cells where the count of deaths is lower than three have been supressed and marked “:” to show this. 2Figures are for deaths registered, rather than deaths occurring in each calendar year. Due to the length of time it takes to complete a coroner’s inquest, it can take months or even years for a suicide to be registered. More details can be found in the ‘suicide registrations in the UK’ statistical bulletin at the following link: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/deaths/bulletins/suicidesintheunitedkingdom/2017registrations Data on the average age of death by each occupation is not recorded by the ONS. Deaths registered in England and Wales between 2013 and 2017, indicate the average age of death by suicide was 45 years for medical practitioners and 49 years for dental practitioners. Number of suicides in England and Wales for medical practitioners, deaths registered between 2013 and 2017. Due to small numbers of deaths, ONS are unable to provide the average age of death by year for each occupation. When looking at deaths registered in England and Wales between 2013 and 2017, the average age of death was 45 years for medical practitioners and 49 years for dental practitioners. Data on occupation is restricted to those aged 20 to 64 years, those of working age; this impacts the average age of death, something that should be interpreted with caution. The average age of death does not necessarily reflect the age at which people in these professions are at highest risk of suicide, and is not comparable with statistics produced by the ONS on life expectancy in the general population. The health and wellbeing of all our National Health Service staff is a top priority and, in July, NHS England published its NHS staff health and wellbeing framework which complements our recent announcement of quicker access to mental health services such as counselling and talking therapies for staff who need them. This will help deliver our manifesto promise to “introduce new services for employees to give them the support they need including quicker access to mental health services”. This builds on NHS England’s “Commissioning for Quality and Innovation” incentive scheme encouraging employers to invest in services to help staff stay physically and mentally fit and well and NHS Improvement’s ongoing work in collaboration with the NHS to improve staff health and wellbeing and reduce sickness absence. In 2017, NHS England launched the NHS GP Health service, a nationally-funded confidential service which specialises in supporting general practitioners (GPs) and trainee GPs experiencing mental ill health and which has already helped more than 1,500 GPs.

Department of Health and Social Care: Labour Turnover

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent discussions his Department has had with tradeunions on reducing staff turnover.

Caroline Dinenage: The Department is committed to engagement with trade unions, and undertakes regular formal meetings with the Public and Commercial Services Union, Prospect and FDA on all matters relating to the Department and its workforce. There have been no recent discussions on reducing turnover.

East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what representations he has received from the East of England Ambulance Service on the potential use of military personnel to cover staff shortages in winter 2018-19.

Stephen Barclay: During this year’s Risk Summit process, the East of England Ambulance Service was asked to ensure that it clarified timelines and capabilities of the Military Assistance to Civil Authorities protocol. Such readiness protocols are produced by trusts as part of contingency planning for response to extreme circumstances.

Mental Health Services: Sexual Offences

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Care Quality Commission's report, Sexual safety on mental health wards, published in September 2018, what plans he has to make additional funding available for Mental Health Trusts to train the workforce in safeguarding patients from sexual incidents in the ward setting.

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Care Quality Commission's report, Sexual safety on mental health wards, published in September 2018, whether he plans to make additional funding available for Mental Health Trusts to promote joint-working between providers and other agencies such as the police.

Matt Hancock: It is essential for staff, providers and national bodies to ensure the sexual safety of people using mental health inpatient settings. Sexual abuse of any kind is completely unacceptable. The Department and system partners have accepted the recommendations of the Care Quality Commission’s report on ‘Sexual Safety on Mental Health Wards’ in principle and are currently working together to plan for swift action to address the report’s findings, including considering financial resourcing. Health Education England (HEE) is committed to contributing to the education and training of staff to enable them to have the right skills, and confidence, to identify and effectively manage inpatient sexual safety incidents. In response to the Care Quality Commission’s (CQC) report, HEE intends to develop a sexual safety core skills framework and develop an eLearning module on sexual safety. We expect allegations related to sexual incidents on mental health wards to be taken extremely seriously, and police should be informed as necessary. As the CQC report identified, joint working between providers and other agencies, such as the police, is vital. National partners, including the CQC, NHS Improvement, the Royal College of Psychiatrists, the National Police Chiefs’ Council and the College of Policing, will be working together to contribute to implementation of the CQC’s recommendation that “Providers should work collaboratively with stakeholders, including patients, the police and safeguarding teams, to ensure that sexual safety incidents are taken seriously and addressed appropriately”.

Parc Prison: Mental Health Services

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Justice on the conclusions on mental health funding of the Independent Monitoring Board on HMP Parc.

Matt Hancock: Healthcare is devolved in Wales therefore this is a matter for the Welsh Government and the National Health Service in Wales.

Department for International Development

Palestinians: Schools

Joan Ryan: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what representations her Department has made to the Palestinian Ministry of Education on removing examples of incitement from school textbooks during the review of the school curriculum in the Palestinian Territories.

Alistair Burt: The UK is currently in the planning phase of the textbook review. The review will enable us to identify if and where examples of incitement exist. We will take steps to address any concerns uncovered by the review as appropriate once it is complete. In my last meeting with the Palestinian Minister of Education in May I challenged him on the need to prepare their population for peaceful coexistence.

Bangladesh: Sexual Offences

Chris Law: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, with reference to the policy paper Bangladesh Sexual and Gender Based Violence Assessment, Dhaka and Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh, 14 to 21 November 2017, which of the recommendations have been implemented and how.

Alistair Burt: The UK is leading the way in supporting a range of organisations providing specialised help to women and survivors of sexual violence among Rohingya refugees and host communities in Bangladesh. The Preventing Sexual Violence Initiative team’s report and recommendations have informed the government’s response to gender-based violence in this crisis. We continue to put protection and the needs and voices of girls and women at the centre of our response, and our support for the international effort in Bangladesh. UK support to address GBV in the Rohingya refugee camps has included:30 Child Friendly Spaces providing protective services and psychosocial and psychological support.19 women’s centres offering a safe space, psychosocial support and activities to women and girls.206,287 Rohingya refugees and host communities have received GBV and SRH services with UK funding. Services provided have included referrals, midwife care, survivor’s cases and healthcare and GBV care.Case management is being provided for 2,190 survivors of sexual and gender based violence.19 sexual and reproductive health clinics are providing family planning, maternal and newborn services.Up to 60,000 women now have access to midwifery care.Up to 30,000 pregnant and breastfeeding women and 120,000 under-fives have been provided with emergency nutrition support.

UNRWA: Finance

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether the Government plans to maintain the current level of funding for the UN Relief and Works Agency in the next departmental spending review for her Department.

Alistair Burt: The UK remains firmly committed to supporting the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees, for whom we have been a consistent top 5 donor. The process for agreeing Spending Review commitments is a Treasury lead. Once this has been set out, DFID will review departmental priorities to agree the best use of its Official Development Assistance in the Occupied Palestinian Territories and the wider Middle East region.

Africa: Overseas Aid

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, pursuant to the Answer of 10 September 2018 to Question 170891, what steps she plans to take to  assess whether the measures announced by the Prime Minister to increase the impact and effectiveness of UK aid across Africa deliver against expectations in the short and medium-term.

Harriett Baldwin: The impact and effectiveness of the development measures announced by the Prime Minister on her recent visit to Africa will be assessed in the same way as all UK aid, using robust and well established procedures. UK development assistance is rigorously scrutinised to ensure it is used for its intended purpose, including by DFID’s Internal Audit Department, the National Audit Office and the Independent Commission for Aid Impact. DFID implements a robust monitoring and evaluation system to ensure that UK aid reaches the intended beneficiaries and achieves the best development outcomes, with a strong focus on ensuring value for money for the UK taxpayer. Programme evaluations are conducted in line with the UK Government evaluation guidelines to help improve effectiveness and to serve an accountability function. There are strong controls in place to monitor spending, including mapping the flow of funds to beneficiaries and regular audits of programme spending. The Secretary of State for International Development has set a challenge that we ensure aid money is not just spent well, but cannot be spent better.

Development Aid

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, pursuant to the Answer of 10 September 2018 to Question 169665 on development aid, how much of the £3,736 million is spent in each broad sector.

Alistair Burt: Of the £3,736 million of UK bilateral aid that was spent in the top 20 receiving countries in 2016, the breakdown by broad sector is given in the table below.Broad sector area£ millionHumanitarian assistance1,016Government and civil society692Health518Education451Other social infrastructure and services.334Economic infrastructure and services186Production services141Multisector aid 1136Water, Sanitation and Hygiene113Commodity and General Programme Assistance79Refugee costs56Unallocated to a specific sector27Administration costs6UK bilateral aid to top 20 receiving countries£3,736Source: Statistics on International DevelopmentIncludes cross-cutting research and funding to scientific institutions.This includes promotion of development awareness for these countries, and aid that cuts across multiple sectors and so cannot be assigned to a single sector.

Developing Countries: Overseas Trade

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, pursuant to the Answer of 10 September 2018 to Question 169664 on developing countries: overseas trade, what assessment her Department has made of how many and which countries have the right resources.

Alistair Burt: The government’s focus is on securing continuity of preferential access for up to 100 developing countries as we leave the EU. We will continue to consult with country partners and a wide range of stakeholders to establish how we can deepen our trade relationships in the future. Developing countries often face barriers to trading and DFID’s programmes help to reduce these – for example the costs of trading are often high due to a lack of infrastructure or burdensome procedures. Programmes like Trademark East Africa are working to increase trade, growth and poverty reduction by tackling these barriers. Experience shows that the greatest gains from trade can be realised by countries that combine trade policy with appropriate macroeconomic policy, strong institutions, access to finance, and other features.

Refugees: Employment

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, with reference to the study by the International Finance Corporation and the UN Refugee Agency on Kakuma Refugee Camp, Kenya, published on 4 May 2018, what assessment her Department has made of the economic gains to host communities if refugees are able to work.

Harriett Baldwin: DFID assesses that opportunities for refugees to work in Kakuma Refugee Camp in Kenya and other refugee camps, can provide considerable benefit for host communities. This includes through increased refugee spending on local goods and services and in some cases, the hiring of host community members to work in refugee owned businesses and homes. The findings of the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) study on Kakuma, are consistent with DFID’s recent support to refugees in Kenya, which has helped build the self-reliance of refugees, including through livelihoods opportunities and greater integration with host communities. DFID Kenya has participated in a number of discussions with IFC/UNHCR, the private sector and other development partners on the findings of the study and its implications for donor programming in Kenya.

Developing Countries: Internally Displaced People

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking to support long-term internally displaced people.

Alistair Burt: The UK is committed to supporting Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs). We are shifting our approach in protracted crises to more effectively meet the long term needs of displaced populations through access to education and healthcare and support to livelihoods. The UK has large bilateral programmes in countries such as Syria, Iraq, Nigeria, South Sudan and Yemen that support IDPs and the communities that host them. We also support, through core and bilateral funding, some of the key UN agencies involved in responding to IDP needs, such as the UN High Commissioner for Refugees and the International Committee of the Red Cross.

Department for International Development: Living Wage

Gareth Snell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how many staff in her Department that work (a) inside and (b) outside Greater London are paid at a rate below the Real Living Wage.

Alistair Burt: DFID have no staff either inside or outside Greater London that are paid at a rate below the real living wage.

Department for International Development: Living Wage

Gareth Snell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how many staff in her Department that work (a) inside and (b) outside Greater London are paid at a rate below  the London Living Wage.

Alistair Burt: There are no staff in the London area, either inside or outside Greater London that are paid at a rate below the London Living Wage.

Department for International Development: Working Hours

Gareth Snell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what the contracted hours are for the highest paid member of staff in her Department.

Alistair Burt: All Senior Civil Servants are contracted to work a minimum (over a 5 day week) either 41 or 42 hours, including daily meal breaks for one hour.

Department for International Development: Staff

Gareth Snell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how many staff (a) are employed directly by (b) are seconded to and (c) work under contract to his Department.

Alistair Burt: DFID currently has 3,995 staff employed directly.There are currently 159 individuals loaned or seconded from other Departments and organisations.There are currently 423 individuals working under contract.

Developing Countries: Abortion

Sir Edward Leigh: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, with reference the announcement of £200 million of funding for the Women’s Integrated Sexual Health (WISH) programme, how much of that funding will be spent on abortion provision and related activities; which countries that spending will be targeted at; and what estimate she has made of how much will be spent in each such country.

Harriett Baldwin: As the Women’s Integrated Sexual Health programme will provide integrated sexual and reproductive services, we cannot provide a specific figure for the amount of funding that will be spent on comprehensive and safe abortion care. As the programme promotes an integrated approach to avoid unintended pregnancy, this will reduce the number of abortions that are sought. WISH will operate in 24 African and 3 Asian Countries: Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Chad, Cote D’Ivoire, DR. Congo, Ethiopia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe and Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan.

Developing Countries: Abortion

Sir Edward Leigh: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, with reference to the announcement of £200 million funding for the Women’s Integrated Sexual Health (WISH) programme, how many abortion procedures are projected to be funded by that project (a) in total and (b) in each country.

Harriett Baldwin: As the Women’s Integrated Sexual Health programme will deliver integrated sexual and reproductive services, we cannot provide a figure for the number of safe abortions which will be supported. The Women’s Integrated Sexual Health (WISH) programme promotes an integrated approach to avoid unintended pregnancy – primarily through increasing access to voluntary modern contraceptives. This will reduce the number of abortions that are sought. The programme’s aim is to help women and girls avoid recourse to unsafe abortion and to increase access to voluntary family planning.

Developing Countries: Genito-urinary Medicine

Sir Edward Leigh: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, with reference to the announcement of £200 million funding for the Women’s Integrated Sexual Health (WISH) programme, which providers will deliver that project; and how much funding each of those providers will receive.

Harriett Baldwin: The Women’s Integrated Sexual Health programme will be implemented by two consortia. Marie Stopes International have been awarded a contract for £77 million and International Planned Parenthood Federation have been awarded a contract for £135 million.

Kenya: Abortion

Sir Edward Leigh: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, with reference to the announcement of £36 million of funding for family planning in Kenya, how much of that funding will be spent on abortion provision and related activities; and how many abortion procedures are estimated to be funded by that project.

Harriett Baldwin: The main focus of the ‘Delivering Sustainable and Equitable Increases in Family Planning in Kenya’ programme is to support increased access to modern family planning services. Abortion services will be supported by the programme within the parameters set out in the Kenyan Constitution. Article 26(4) of the Kenyan Constitution states that, ‘Abortion is not permitted unless, in the opinion of a trained health professional, there is need for emergency treatment, or the life or health of the mother is in danger or if permitted by any other written law’. We have no breakdown of funding for any abortion provision, or estimate of the number of procedures because this is a new programme, and the procurement of the implementing partner is underway.

Palestinians: ICT

Crispin Blunt: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, pursuant to the Answer of 4 September 2018 to Question 167103 on Palestinians: ICT, what plans she has to promote the development of Palestinian IT firms and strengthen their capability to work with British businesses after the Palestinian Market Development Programme ceases in October 2019.

Alistair Burt: The programme support provided to Palestinian IT firms from the Palestinian Market Development Programme (PMDP) will cease in October 2018. The Department for International Development (DFID) has recently announced a new £38 million economic development programme for the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Part of this new programme will continue to provide support to Palestinian IT firms to connect with British businesses, for the twelve months following the completion of the PMDP. Following this, DFID will review if further support to the Palestinian IT sector is warranted and if the UK is best placed to support it.

Department for International Development: Brexit

Alan Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, with reference to the 2018-19 Main Estimates, how much funding her Department has allocated to prepare for the UK to leave the EU.

Alistair Burt: HM Treasury has already allocated over £2 billion of additional funding to departments and the devolved administrations for EU exit preparations so far. This includes the £1.5 billion of additional funding HM Treasury announced at Autumn Budget 2017 for 2018/19. A full breakdown of how this was allocated to departments can be found in the Chief Secretary’s Written Ministerial Statement, HCWS540, laid on the 13th March (https://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-statement/Commons/2018-03-13/HCWS540/). This money will be paid out in Supplementary Estimates 18/19 later this financial year.

Sanitary Protection: Costs

David Linden: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment she has made of the potential effect of addressing period poverty on achieving Sustainable Development Goal number four on inclusive and equitable quality education and lifelong learning opportunities for all.

Harriett Baldwin: The UK is committed to ensuring that every girl has the chance to access 12 years of quality education and learning, as highlighted in our 2018 Education Policy. This includes recognising the importance of providing menstrual hygiene facilities in schools and tackling discriminatory gender norms (including taboos around menstruation) to support girls to stay in education during their periods. We are proud to support a range of menstrual hygiene interventions to help keep girls in school. Through the Girls’ Education Challenge Fund we are including menstrual hygiene activities across 12 countries.

Democratic Republic of Congo: Overseas Aid

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of her Department's programmes in the Democratic Republic of Congo in the last three years.

Harriett Baldwin: The effectiveness of DFID programmes is measured against expected results, and the value for money provided. Individual programme performance is assessed annually and can be viewed on DFID’s development tracker: https://devtracker.dfid.gov.uk/countries/CD/.

Democratic Republic of Congo: Overseas Aid

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, which organisations her Department allocates funding to for programmes in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Harriett Baldwin: The Department for International Development’s bilateral programme in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) delivers UKaid to the Congolese people through a range of organisations (private sector, non-governmental and multilateral). These are:   1. Action Contre la Faim (ACF) 2. Adam Smith International (ASI) 3. Association de Santé Familiale (ASF) 4. Catholic Agency for Overseas Development (CAFOD) 5. Cambridge Education (CE) 6. Chemonics / Global Development Firm 7. Concern International 8. Counterpart International 9. Fondation Hirondelle 10. IMA World Health 11. International Committee for the Red Cross (ICRC) 12. Mercy Corps 13. National Democratic Institute (NDI) 14. Observatoire de la Dépense Publique (ODEP) 15. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) 16. Oxford Policy Management (OPM) 17. Palladium Group 18. PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PwC) 19. Province of the Anglican Church of Congo 20. Search for Common Ground (SFCG) 21. The Carter Center 22. Tulane Institute of Infant and Early Childhood Health 23. The United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) 24. United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) 26. United Nations Joint Human Rights Office (UN-JHRO) 27. Westminster Foundation for Democracy 29. World Food Programme (WFP) 30. World Bank 31. Women and Young Girl International (WYG International)   In addition, core contributions to multilateral and centrally managed programmes spend money in DRC.

Democratic Republic of Congo: Overseas Aid

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, which three programmes in the Democratic Republic of Congo receive the largest amount of funding from her Department.

Harriett Baldwin: The three largest current programmes supported by the Department for International Development in the Democratic Republic of Congo are:Humanitarian Innovation, Response and Reform programme reaching over 3 million people;Access to Health Care reaching 9 million people;Increasing sustainable access to water sanitation and hygiene reaching 3.75 million people.

Democratic Republic of Congo: Overseas Aid

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what recent steps has she taken to assess the value for money of aid spending in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Harriett Baldwin: All DFID programmes in the Democratic Republic of Congo are subject to standard Value-for-Money (VfM) reviews throughout the programme cycle. This includes a yearly assessment as part of our mandatory annual review process, through which we monitor and evaluate the effectiveness and achievements of our programmes. Additional periodic VfM assessments are also made on a case-by-case basis.

Iraq: Internally Displaced People

Jack Lopresti: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assistance the UK is providing to livelihood creation for (a) internally displaced persons in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq and (b) Internally Displaced Persons returning from the Kurdistan Region of Iraq to the Nineveh Plains.

Alistair Burt: The UK funds livelihood projects in northern Iraq and the Kurdistan Region of Iraq through the UN’s Iraq Humanitarian Fund (IHF). In 2017 IHF-funded livelihoods projects provided 6,033 displaced or conflict affected people with temporary employment opportunities. The UK also funds livelihood creation through the UNDP Funding Facility for Stabilisation (FFS), which focuses on areas liberated from Daesh. In order to create conditions for people to return home, the FFS aims to kick-start local economies by rehabilitating critical infrastructure, providing grants for small businesses, and by directly generating income opportunities.

Department for Education

Pupils: Health

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what information his Department holds on student (a) happiness and (b) satisfaction in secondary schools.

Nick Gibb: Two surveys by the Department, which include questions on happiness and satisfaction among secondary school pupils, are the second Longitudinal Study of Young People in England (LSYPE2) and the Pupil and Parent or Carers Omnibus survey.

Higher Education: Admissions

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the effect on A-Level grade attainment of the increase in the number of students receiving unconditional offers from universities; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions he has had with universities on the use of unconditional offers for undergraduate places.

Mr Sam Gyimah: I am concerned about the increase in unconditional offers and any adverse impact they may be having on students’ A level grades. That is why I’m looking closely at the practice and have asked the regulator, the Office for Students (OfS), to review the practice, and in particular, to assess the impact it might be having on attainment. If negative impacts on students are highlighted through this review, I will expect the OfS to take robust action, in accordance with its powers set out in legislation.

Schools: Rural Areas

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if his Department will conduct a review of (a) the financial sustainability of rural secondary schools and (b) contingency planning for communities and pupils in the event that such a school should be financially unsustainable.

Nick Gibb: The sparsity factor in the national funding formula allocates additional funding of £25 million specifically to remote schools. A small, rural secondary school will attract up to £65,000 through the sparsity factor. Combined with the lump sum of £110,000, this provides significant support for the small and remote schools that play an essential role in rural communities.The national funding formula is the result of an extensive consultation, with over 26,000 responses. We are keeping the sparsity factor under review, along with all the elements of the funding formula. We will consider improvements in consultation with stakeholders.Statutory guidance on closing local authority maintained schools includes a presumption against closure which requires decision makers to ensure that the case for closure is strong, before approving the closure of a rural school. This means that decision makers should consider factors such as the likely effect of the closure of the school on the local community, educational standards at the school, the impact on standards at neighbouring schools, the availability of transport to other schools, and any alternatives to the closure of the school.The closure of academies is a matter for my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State and he will consider the requirements of the presumption against the closure of rural schools when considering the closure of a rural academy, in the same way that local authorities do for maintained schools. There are no current plans to review the closure process.

Schools: Rural Areas

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will assess the (a) effect of pupil-led funding on the financial viability of small rural schools in sparsely populated areas and (b) effectiveness of all other aspects of the school funding formula.

Nick Gibb: The national funding formula (NFF) provides a lump sum of £110,000 for every school as a contribution to the costs that do not vary with pupil numbers. This gives schools certainty that they will attract a fixed amount each year in addition to their pupil-led funding.The formula also includes a sparsity factor which targets £25 million of funding to these schools. A small rural secondary school in a sparsely populated area could attract up to £175,000, in total, through the lump sum and sparsity factors. When the lump sum is coupled with the sparsity factor, this provides significant support for the small and remote schools that play an essential role in rural communities. The Department also supports all schools to manage their resources effectively.The NFF has allocated an increase for every pupil in every school in 2018-19, with up to 3% increases for underfunded schools. In 2019-20, all schools will attract an increase of at least 1% per pupil compared to their 2017-18 baselines. Those schools that have been historically underfunded will attract up to 6% more, per pupil, compared to 2017-18. This is a further 3%, per pupil, on top of the 3% that they gained in 2018-19.Many local authorities have chosen to move towards the NFF locally, with 73 local authorities moving all their factor values towards the NFF, and 41 in the NFF’s first year – matching the NFF factor values almost exactly.The Department will continue to assess the impact and effectiveness of our reforms on an ongoing basis.

Youth Work: Higher Education

Cat Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 11 September 2018 to Question 169504, what recent assessment he has made of trends in the level of youth work courses offered by higher education institutions; and what steps he is taking to encourage more students to take up those courses in higher education.

Mr Sam Gyimah: Higher education institutions (HEIs) are independent and have autonomy over which courses to deliver (such as Youth Work courses). It is the government’s role to help ensure that the higher education (HE) sector as a whole is responsive to, and able to, deliver demand for HE provision.Whilst we do not hold accurate course figures, first degree entrants into Youth Work studies at UK HEIs have decreased by 26% between the period 2013 to 2014 and the period 2016 to 2017.Through our regulatory reforms, we have established the Office for Students (OfS). This is a new regulator for the HE sector, and it has student choice at the heart of its agenda. OfS has introduced tools like the Teaching Excellence and Students Outcomes Framework and Longitudinal Education Outcomes data. These tools will put more information into the hands of prospective students. They will also allow students to better understand which course is right for them and the outcomes delivered by various courses at different institutions.

Sixth Form Education: Wallasey

Ms Angela Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the (a) planned and (b) actual expenditure on 16-19 education was in each of the last three years in Wallasey constituency.

Anne Milton: The Education and Skills Funding Agency publish annually the funding allocations for individual institutions delivering education to 16 to 19 year olds. In terms of planned and actual expenditure, for schools and colleges, what is allocated is paid to the institutions. Therefore, the allocations data for these institution types equates to planned and actual expenditure by the department. Data for 16 to 19 further education includes the funding allocated and the related student numbers for each institution. The allocations data is available on GOV.UK, as follows;2015/16:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/16-to-19-allocation-data-2015-to-2016-academic-year.2016/17:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/16-to-19-allocation-data-2016-to-2017-academic-year.2017/18:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/16-to-19-allocation-data-2017-to-2018-academic-year.

Citizenship: GCSE

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education,  how many pupils enrolled in the GCSE Citizenship course in (a) Coventry, (b) the West Midlands and (c) England in 2018.

Nick Gibb: The Department does not currently hold data on the subjects entered by pupils in the 2017/18 academic year. The Department will publish 2017/18 data for GCSEs in October 2018.The number of pupils, at the end of key stage 4[1], entering Citizenship Studies subjects at GCSE level[2] in Coventry, the West Midlands[3] and England in 2016/17[4] is provided in the table below.YearNumber of entries into Citizenship Studies at GCSE CoventryWest MidlandsEngland2016/17[5]221,70415,600 [1] Pupils are identified as being at the end of key stage 4 if they were on roll at the school and in year 11 at the time of the spring school census. Age is calculated as at 31 August for that year, and the majority of pupils at the end of key stage 4 are age 15 at the start of the academic year. Some pupils may complete this key stage in an earlier or later year group.[2] Includes GCSEs and equivalents[3] Local authority figures cover achievements in state-funded schools only. They do not include pupils recently arrived from overseas.[4] Includes entries and achievements by these pupils in previous academic years[5] Figures are based on final data.

Schools: Assessments

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the increase in the attainment gap between white boys eligible for free school meals and white boys not eligible for free school meals from 31 to 33 percentage points between 2015 and 2017; which schools have countered that trend; and what steps are being taken to disseminate their practice.

Nadhim Zahawi: A list of state-funded schools which had a decrease in the attainment gap between white males who were and were not eligible for free school meals (FSM) between 2014/15 and 2016/17 can be found in the attachment. The attainment measure used is achievement of A*-C/9-4 English and maths. The Education Endowment Foundation, funded by the Department of Education with £137 million to research and promote the most effective ways of improving the progress and attainment of disadvantaged pupils, is working in hundreds of English schools to show how all schools can make a difference to their disadvantaged pupils’ futures. There were reforms to GCSE qualifications and associated attainment measures between 2015 and 2017 that mean the published figures for attainment of English and maths are not directly comparable. The analysis for this response accounts for this by applying the 2015 measure to the 2017 data. On this consistent basis, the attainment gap between FSM and non-FSM eligible pupils increased by 1 percentage point overall between 2015 and 2017. The attainment gap that these schools represent is not equal to the one calculated from published figures[1]. [1] Includes pupils eligible to be included in school level results, rather than national level results – this leads to small differences in the cohort compared to the published figures. Schools are included where they have at least six white male pupils who are eligible for FSM and six who are not; this is to protect the confidentiality of pupils in line with the department’s confidentiality policy (attached). Schools also must have a valid cohort in both years in order for the attainment gap change to be calculated – this mainly affects schools that closed or opened after 2014/15. Caution should be taken when looking at the change in attainment at school level due to the relatively small cohort sizes at some schools. The effect of a few low/high attaining pupils may greatly influence the overall change in attainment at a school with a small cohort; whilst some schools appear to have significant swings in the attainment gap, in many cases this will be a function of the changing cohort in the school over time.



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Academies

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many academy schools were waiting to be re-brokered at 1 September 2018.

Nadhim Zahawi: As at 1 September 2018, there are 66 academies that have been approved by Regional Schools Commissioners (RSC) to transfer to another trust. Academies may transfer to other trusts in a range of circumstances. In some cases, RSCs may be intervening due to concerns about academy performance. In other cases, an academy may be moving trust as part of an agreed voluntary arrangement. Although transfers are agreed in principle, some may end up not going ahead for any number of reasons. Information on transfers that have occurred during the financial years 2013/14 to 2017/18 is published here:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/academy-transfers-and-funding-england-financial-year-2017-to-2018. RSCs actively encourage single academy trusts to join multi-academy trusts, where a good fit is identified and these transfers are included in this data.

Pupil Premium

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 10 September 2018 to Question 170788 on Schools: Fees and Charges, what information his Department holds on the use of the pupil premium by schools to support children from low-income families.

Nadhim Zahawi: The department has commissioned and published research on how schools are using the pupil premium funding that they have been allocated, to support pupils from financially disadvantaged backgrounds. For example, in 2015, a report was published detailing the findings of research led by the National Foundation for Educational Research. This looked at the strategies used by schools to raise the attainment of disadvantaged pupils and the characteristics of those schools in which such pupils have better outcomes . This report is available at:https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/473974/DFE-RR411_Supporting_the_attainment_of_disadvantaged_pupils.pdf.In monitoring the progress of our policy, we also take into account, evidence from research commissioned and carried out by other organisations on how schools are using the pupil premium. These organisations include the National Audit Office, which in 2015 published the findings of it’s inquiry into funding for disadvantaged pupils, which is available at:https://www.nao.org.uk/report/funding-for-disadvantaged-pupils/.The Sutton Trust also publishes annually the results of its polling of teachers and school leaders on school priorities for spending the pupil premium, the most recent results of which, are available at:https://www.suttontrust.com/research-paper/best-in-class-2018-research/.Policy officials also engage in ongoing discussions with schools on how they are using their pupil premium funding, in order to inform the development of our policy.Furthermore, all local authority maintained schools publish details online for parents and other stakeholders, on how much pupil premium funding they have been allocated, how they are spending this funding to overcome the barriers to academic progress encountered by disadvantaged pupils and the impact this expenditure is having on eligible pupils.

Foreign Students

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what his policy is on ensuring that UK students have opportunities to attend universities abroad for a year through (a) the Erasmas Programme and (b) other programmes once the UK leaves the EU.

Mr Sam Gyimah: The government has made clear that we value international exchange and collaboration in education and training as part of our vision for a global Britain. We support initiatives for our young people to gain international experience, both through study and work placements abroad, to increase their language skills and cultural awareness, and improve their life chances and employability.Under the terms of the Withdrawal Agreement, the UK will continue to benefit from all EU programmes, including Erasmus+, until the end of the current budget plan. In the government’s white paper on the future relationship between the UK and the EU we propose that the UK and the EU should continue to give young people and students the chance to benefit from each other’s world leading universities. The UK is therefore open to exploring participation in the successor scheme to Erasmus+, on the basis of a fair ongoing contribution. Ultimately, future UK participation in the successor Erasmus programme is a matter for negotiations to come about our future relationship with the EU.

Schools: Buildings

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much funding has been allocated for new school builds and extensions in the next two years.

Nick Gibb: The Government has committed to invest around £23 billon in the school estate between 2016-17 and 2020-21 to deliver new school places and rebuild and replace buildings in the worst condition. This includes funding for new buildings and school expansions in England. A large proportion of this funding is delivered through annual allocations to local authorities (LAs) and larger multi-academy trusts (MATs), which then prioritise investment in their estates based on detailed local knowledge. This includes basic need funding to LAs to meet their duty to ensure there are enough places for children in their areas. In response to the needs of LAs, the Department has allocated £1.7 billion in funding to LAs for 2018-19 and 2019-20. They can then use this funding to build new schools or to expand a school within their area, depending on local priorities. Since 2015, the Department has allocated a total of £5.6 billion to schools and those responsible for school buildings to maintain and improve the condition of the estate, including £1.4 billion in 2018-19. Smaller and stand-alone academy trusts bid for condition funding from the Condition Improvement Fund (CIF) each year and in 2018-19, we allocated £524 million through the CIF main round. Published data on current and future capital allocations is available on the GOV.UK website.Alongside these allocations, the Department also delivers major building programmes centrally. This includes the £4.4 billion Priority School Building Programme, which is rebuilding or refurbishing more than 500 school buildings in the poorest conditions across the country, and the free schools programme.

Class Sizes: Wallasey

Ms Angela Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the pupil to teacher ratio was in primary schools in Wallasey constituency in each year since 2010.

Nick Gibb: The following table provides the pupil to teacher ratios, calculated using both qualified and unqualified teachers, in state funded primary in Wallesey constituency from November 2011 to 2017. These figures are not available for 2010. The figures show that there were more teachers per pupil in Wallasey from 2013 onwards than the national average.Pupil to teacher ratios Primary WallaseyEngland2010..201120.520.5201220.520.5201319.620.5201419.220.3201518.720.5201619.920.6201719.920.9Source: School Workforce and School (pupil) Census

Class Sizes: East Hampshire and Wallasey

Ms Angela Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the pupil to teacher ratio was in secondary schools in (a) Wallasey constituency and (b) East Hampshire in each year since 2010.

Nick Gibb: The following table provides the pupil to teacher ratios, calculated using both qualified and unqualified teachers, in state funded secondary schools in Wallasey constituency and East Hampshire constituency from November 2011 to 2017. These figures are not available for 2010. The figures show that there were more teachers per pupil in Wallasey secondary schools than the national average for all the available years.Pupil to teacher ratios Secondary Schools WallaseyEast HampshireEngland2010...201113.916.114.9201214.214.914.9201313.013.815.0201412.914.815.0201512.915.815.3201613.716.015.6201713.815.716.0Source: School Workforce and School (pupil) Census

Arts: GCSE

Ms Angela Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many students have studied at least two arts subjects at GCSE level in (a) Wallasey  and (b) East Hampshire in each of the last five years.

Ms Angela Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many GCSE entries for arts subjects there were from students in Wallasey in each of the last five years.

Nick Gibb: The total number of entries into GCSE (including equivalents) arts subjects and pupils entering two or more GCSE arts subjects, by pupils at the end of Key Stage 4 in state-funded schools in Wallasey and East Hampshire in each of the last three years can be found in the attached table.



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Students: Mental Health

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what progress his Department has made on setting up a working group on the transition students face when going to university as part of his measures to support student mental health.

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many meetings his Department held with stakeholders to explore the opt-in requirement for universities to have permission to share information on student mental health with parents or a trusted person since June 2018.

Mr Sam Gyimah: Work on supporting students in making the transition into university and on exploring disclosure agreements has continued to progress in the period since formal announcement of these policy areas was made in June.Stakeholders from across the sector have been involved in this work and will continue to be called on to contribute in the specific areas where their expertise can add most value.We shall also be working with parents and carers, and legal and health experts as well as sector partners in the specific area of developing advice on disclosure and consent, as highlighted in the suicide prevention guidance published on 5 September by Universities UK.

English Baccalaureate

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate he has made of the numbers of pupils completing the English Baccalaureate in (a) Coventry South constituency, (b) Coventry, (c) the West Midlands and (d) England.

Nick Gibb: Information on the proportion of students entered for and achieving the English Baccalaureate is published at parliamentary constituency, local authority, regional and national level in the “GCSE and equivalent results in England: statistical first release” series. [1]  [1] https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-gcses-key-stage-4.National, regional and local authority figures can be found in the local authority tables within each year (revised)Parliamentary constituency information can be found in the following publications: 2010/11 to 2013/14 Pupil residency and school location tables: SFR06/2015: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/399007/SFR06_2015_Pupil_res_and_school_location.xls (Table C).2014/15 - Pupil residency and school location tables: SFR 01/2016 : https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/493479/SFR01_2016_Pupil_Residency_and_School_Location_Tables.xls (Table PC1). 2015/16 - Pupil residency and school location tables: SFR03/2017 : https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/584152/SFR03_2017_pupil_residency_and_school_location_tables.xls (Table PC1). 2016/17 - Pupil residency and school location tables: SFR01/2018: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/676692/SFR01_2018_Pupil_Residency_and_School_location_tables.xlsx (Table PC1).

Department for Education: Brexit

Alan Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the 2018-19 Main Estimates, how much funding his Department has allocated to prepare for the UK to leave the EU.

Anne Milton: Her Majesty’s Treasury (HMT) has already allocated over £2 billion of additional funding to departments and the devolved administrations for EU exit preparations so far. This includes the £1.5 billion of additional funding HMT announced at Autumn Budget 2017 for 2018/19. A full breakdown of how this was allocated to departments can be found in the Chief Secretary’s Written Ministerial Statement, HCWS540, laid on the 13 March: https://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-statement/Commons/2018-03-13/HCWS540/. This money will be paid out in Supplementary Estimates 2018/19 later this financial year.

Social Mobility Commission: Public Appointments

Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many and what proportion of applications that the Centre for Public Appointments has received for the post of Social Mobility Commissioner were (a) solicited and (b) unsolicited by the Government.

Nadhim Zahawi: The recruitment for the Social Mobility Commissioners is currently ongoing; we are unable to release this information until the appointments process has concluded so as not to prejudice the outcome of the campaign.

Higher Education: North West

Ms Angela Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of (a) all pupils and (b) pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds in(i) The North West (ii) Merseyside and (iii) Wallasey Constituency entered university in each of the last 10 years.

Mr Sam Gyimah: The department publishes information on the percentage of 15 year old pupils from state-funded and special schools who entered higher education by the age of 19 by free school meal status, local authority and region. Figures for the North West can be found in Table 2a of the following file: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/635104/SFR39-2017-MainTables.xlsx. Figures are not available for Merseyside or Wallasey Constituency on this basis. An alternative source of data for entry to higher education is the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) End of Cycle Report 2017. UCAS publishes data on the proportion of 18 year olds entering full-time undergraduate higher education by parliamentary constituency. However, figures are not available for students from disadvantaged backgrounds. The figures show that the proportion of 18 year olds entering full-time undergraduate higher education from Wallasey was 23.4% in 2006 and 31.1% in 2017.

Social Mobility Commission: Public Appointments

Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether (a) Odgers Berndtson and (b) any other human resources firm has received funding for services for appointments to the Social Mobility Commission in the last 12 months.

Nadhim Zahawi: No human resources firm, including Odgers Berndtson, has received funding for services for appointments to the Social Mobility Commission from the department in the last 12 months.

Ministry of Justice

Altcourse Prison: Prison Officers

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many Prison Custody Officers were certified in HMP Altcourse as at 1 April (a) 2010, (b) 2012, (c) 2017 and (d) 2018.

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the population in HMP Altcourse  was on 1 April (a) 2010, (b) 2012, (c) 2017 and (d) 2018.

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the prison population in HMP Ashfield was on 1 April (a) 2010, (b) 2012, (c) 2017 and (d) 2018.

Rory Stewart: HM Prison and Probation do not hold data on the number of Prison Custody Officers certified. This table displays the number of funded posts at each privately managed prison for January each year. Prison2018201720122010 HMP Altcourse416.21393.21488488This table displays the population at each privately managed prison for 31st March each year, prison population figures are published regularly.Prison2018201720122010 HMP Altcourse1,1361,1331,1771,303HMP Ashfield408404253235Operators of privately managed prisons are required to deliver sufficient recruitment and training of staff to ensure they maintain a safe, decent and secure prison as per their contractual obligation. The performance of all providers continues to be robustly managed. We will not hesitate to take action if and when standards fall short.

Oakwood Prison: Prison Officers

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many Prison Custody Officers were certified in HMP Oakwood as at 1 April (a) 2010, (b) 2012, (c) 2017 and (d) 2018.

Rory Stewart: HM Prison and Probation do not hold data on the number of Prison Custody Officers certified. This table displays the number of funded posts at HMP Oakwood for January, for each year where data is available.Prison2018201720122010HMP Oakwood478.3464.97437x The area marked 'x' on the table indicates that a prison was not open in that year. Where data for a particular year is not available, this is indicated in the table. As the provision of this management information is not a contractual requirement, some of the historical data was not captured.

Legal Aid Scheme: Solicitors

Jo Stevens: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment his Department has made of the (a) number and (b) geographical distribution of practicing legal aid solicitors.

Lucy Frazer: The reforms introduced under the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 were intended to discourage unnecessary and adversarial litigation at public expense, to target legal aid at those who need it most, to make significant savings to the cost of the scheme, and to deliver better overall value for money for the taxpayer. Last year we spent £1.6 billion on legal aid – just over a fifth of the department’s budget - and we regularly monitor the provision of services to ensure this is adequate across the country. In the recent re-tender of the face-to-face contracts, the Legal Aid Agency (LAA) received tenders from more than 1,700 organisations wishing to deliver face-to-face civil legal aid work. These organisations were required to verify their bids and at the present time over 1440 contracts have been awarded with more expected to be awarded, with a view to starting on the 1st October. The LAA will consider the outcome of the tender process once the verification process has been completed and will take any necessary action if there are any gaps in access to services. We are already working closely with partners in the legal system to review the changes we made to legal aid in 2012, to make sure they are delivering the efficiency and fairness we need. We greatly value the work of legal aid practitioners and will continue to engage with them during the review process and beyond on how best to ensure a sustainable legal aid service.

Prisons: Wales

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many Welsh-speaking staff were employed in each prison in Wales in each of the last eight years.

Rory Stewart: Information on Welsh-speaking staff in prisons is not, and has never been, collected and so the data requested is not available. Our Welsh Language Scheme is currently under review, and we will continue to work with the Welsh Language Commissioner to ensure that the linguistic needs of Welsh speaking prisoners are met.

Prisons

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, which prisons in England and Wales have operated at a level above their certified normal accommodation in each of the last seven years.

Rory Stewart: The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) publishes monthly individual prison population and capacity information through the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/prison-population-statistics The following table identifies each prison in England and Wales which has operated with a population above its Certified Normal Accommodation (CNA) on the last working Friday in any month in each of the last seven years. CNA, or uncrowded capacity, is the Prison Service’s own measure of accommodation. It represents the good, decent standard of accommodation that the Service aspires to provide all prisoners. CNA differs to the Operational Capacity of a prison which is the total number of prisoners that an establishment can hold taking into account control, security and the proper operation of the planned regime. Although CNA is ideal in practice it has in many cases not been possible for the last two decades due to the significant population growth. Where the Operational Capacity of a prison is higher than the CNA it will be classed as having the potential to be crowded, which can mean prisoners share cells. In the financial year 2017/18, 24.2% of the prison population was being held in crowded conditions, down from 24.5% in the previous year. We have an ambitious plan to reduce prison crowding by introducing new places that are safe, decent, and uncrowded. In February 2017 HM Prison and Young Offender Institution Berwyn was opened which, when full, will provide 2,100 uncrowded prison places. The government has also committed to building up to 10,000 decent prison places which will provide the physical conditions for Governors to achieve better educational, training and rehabilitative outcomes.

Dangerous Driving: Sentencing

Vernon Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when he plans to bring forward legislative proposals to increase the length of sentences for dangerous driving; and if he will make a statement.

Rory Stewart: I refer to my recent responses to questions 165603 and 137592 and reiterate that we will bring forward proposals to increase the maximum penalty for causing death by dangerous driving as soon as parliamentary time allows.

Kent, Surrey and Sussex Community Rehabilitation Company

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the efficacy of the Kent, Surrey and Sussex Community Rehabilitation Company; and what plans he has to renew that company's contract.

Rory Stewart: On 27 July 2018 the Government announced its intention to end all current Community Rehabilitation Company contracts in 2020 and, following a consultation exercise and engagement with potential providers, introduce more effective delivery arrangements. The proposals set out in the consultation include a realignment of contract areas in England, to enable better partnership working with local partners such as local authorities and Police and Crime Commissioners. The consultation closes on 21 September and plans for future arrangements will be announced in due course. Kent Surrey and Sussex Community Rehabilitation Company (CRC) continue to perform well against the service levels within the contract. Robust assurance of CRC performance is provided through operational contract management backed up by regular Operational Assurance audits, and Internal Audit activity as required. There is regular monitoring of service delivery, including a focus on validating published performance management information. CRC performance information showing services levels against a range of measures is released quarterly as part of the Community Performance Quarterly Management Information.https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/community-performance-quarterly-mi-update-to-march-2018

Motor Vehicles: Theft

Ben Bradley: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prosecutions there have been for motor vehicle theft in the Nottinghamshire area in the latest period for which figures are available.

Lucy Frazer: The number of defendants prosecuted for for motor vehicle theft in the Nottinghamshire area in 2017 can be found in the Criminal Justice Statistics Court Outcomes by PFA tool in the following link:https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/733996/court-outcomes-by-pfa-2017-update.xlsx Ensure that only ‘Magistrates Court’ is selected in ‘Court Type’, select offence: ‘130 Theft of a motor vehicle (excl. aggravated vehicle taking’, which is a summary motoring offence, ‘48 Theft of a motor vehicle or other conveyance (excl. aggravated vehicle taking)’ a triable either way offence and ’37 Aggravated vehicle taking’.Select ‘Nottinghamshire’ in ‘Police Force Area’.Drag ‘Offence’ in to the ‘Rows’ in the PivotTable fields to see a breakdown of prosecutions for each motor vehicle theft offence. The location refers to where offence is dealt with, not where the offence occurred. Figures are available for 2007 to 2017, figures for 2018 are planned for publication in May 2019.

Burglary: Convictions

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people charged with burglary in each of the last three years have been (a) convicted and (b) given a jail sentence.

Rory Stewart: The number of offenders convicted of burglary offences, as well as the number of offenders given a custodial sentence for burglary offences in each of the last three years, can be found using the “Outcomes by offence data tool” at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/criminal-justice-system-statistics-quarterly-december-2017 To produce the data requested, first enable editing of the table and then search for “Burglary” in the ‘Offence’ filter and select the following offences:28.1 Burglary in a dwelling - indictable only28.2 Burglary in a dwelling - triable either way29 Aggravated burglary in a dwelling30A.1 Burglary in a building other than a dwelling - indictable only30A.2 Burglary in a building other than a dwelling - triable either way31 Aggravated burglary in a building not a dwelling.

Armed Forces: Death

Douglas Ross: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, which body had responsibility for the investigation of military deaths in Scotland before the introduction of the Fatal Accident and Sudden Deaths (Scotland) Act 2016.

Edward Argar: This is a devolved issue and is therefore the responsibility of the Scottish Government.

Prisons: Construction

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 10 September 2018 to Question 168118, if he will publish the Estates and Transformation Team report.

Rory Stewart: Further to my written response to PQ 168118 there is no intention to publish the advice on whether the public sector would bid as part of any competition to operate new-build prisons. On 26 June I updated the House of Commons Justice Committee on our plans to build the first prison in our prison estate transformation programme at the former HMP Wellingborough through public capital, with construction work expected to begin late 2018/early 2019. We intend to launch a competition to appoint a framework of prison operators, from which we will select the operator for the new prison at Wellingborough and potentially further prisons following expiry of current private sector contracts. HM Prison and Probation Service will not bid to run the new prison at Wellingborough. However, there will be a ‘public sector benchmark’ against which operators’ bids will be assessed. Contracts will not be awarded if bids do not meet quality or value for money thresholds and all of the above will be subject to the usual planning approvals, value for money and affordability tests.

Prisoners: Domestic Violence

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many (a) male and (b) female prisoners were recorded as having been a victim of domestic violence on the last date for which information is available.

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what proportion of (a) men and (b) women in prison were recorded as having been a perpetrator of domestic violence on the latest date for which information is available.

Rory Stewart: The latest data available relates to those in custody on 30 June 2017, aged 18 and over. Information is available for individuals whose relationship status had been assessed by that date on the Offender Assessment System, which accounts for 3,287 women and 68,827 men. i) From these totals 1,626 female prisoners and 4,146 male prisoners were identified as having ever been the victim of domestic violence. This equates to 49% of female and 6% of male prisoners. ii) From these totals, 18% of female prisoners and 34% of male prisoners were identified as having ever been the perpetrator of domestic violence. This is 586 female perpetrators and 23,388 male perpetrators.

Community Orders: Reoffenders

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many offences were committed by offenders serving a community order in the last year for which information is available.

Rory Stewart: From centrally held data it is not possible to separately identify ‘how many offences were committed by offenders serving a community order in the last year’, without incurring disproportionate cost.

Reoffenders

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many and what proportion of offenders who breached their post-sentence supervision subsequently appeared before a court in the latest year for which information is available.

Rory Stewart: This information could only be obtained at disproportionate cost. You may, however, find the latest HM Inspectorate of Probation report on Enforcement and Recall useful: https://www.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmiprobation/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2018/02/Enforcement-and-Recall-report.pdf. Assessments of post-sentence supervision start on page 37. This report found that almost all recall decisions were good, and that recall was handled appropriately. Public protection is our priority and offenders on licence are subject to a strict set of conditions, which may include preventing them from contacting their victims and excluding them from certain places. Those who fail to comply can be immediately recalled to prison, however, the aim is always to support offenders to complete their licence successfully.

Ministry of Justice: Staff

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many staff (a) are employed directly by (b) are seconded to and (c) work under contract to his Department.

Edward Argar: As at June 2018, there were 68,202 FTE staff employed directly by the Ministry of Justice (including all its Agencies) and 4,599 FTE staff under contract to the department. Data are not held centrally on the number of secondments. These data are available at:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/workforce-management-information-moj.

Wellingborough Prison

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 10 September 2018 to Question 168118 on Prisons: Construction, what analysis his Department has conducted on the potential financial savings to the public purse from not allowing HM Prison and Probation Service to submit a bid to run the new prison at Wellingborough.

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 10 September 2018 to Question 168118 on Prisons: Construction, what steps his Department plans to take to ensure (a) transparency and (b) public confidence in the comparison process between the public sector benchmark and bids from private sector operators.

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 10 September 2018 to Question 168118 on Prisons: Construction, what processes his Department plans to put in place to assess the robustness of the public-sector benchmark against which private-sector bids will be compared.

Rory Stewart: As you are aware, on 26 June, I updated the House of Commons Justice Committee on our plans to build the first prison in our prison estate transformation programme at the former HMP Wellingborough through public capital, with construction work expected to begin late 2018/early 2019. We intend to launch a competition to appoint a framework of prison operators, from which we will select the operator for the new prison at Wellingborough and potentially further prisons following expiry of current private sector contracts. All of the above, including analysis of any bids against a public sector benchmark, will be subject to the usual value for money and affordability tests through a process involving the Ministry of Justice, HM Treasury and the Cabinet Office. Contracts will not be awarded if bids do not meet quality or value for money thresholds.

HM Courts and Tribunals Service: Security Guards

Ronnie Cowan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 11 September to Question 169517, how much his Department has spent on contracted security personnel to assist with the processing of tribunal cases in Scotland in the last five years.

Rory Stewart: Expenditure in the last five years was nil. Security personnel are not employed to assist with the administrative processing of tribunal cases; this is undertaken by dedicated administrative staff. Contracted security personnel are, however, deployed to ensure the security and safety of all persons who work in and attend tribunal premises, and undertake specific duties including searching the public on entry and responding to security incidents. They are not involved in any administrative process outside of those duties.

Ministry of Justice: Working Hours

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the contracted hours are for the highest paid member of staff in his Department.

Edward Argar: The highest paid member of staff is a Senior Civil Servant (SCS) and SCS are contracted to work a minimum (over a 5 day week) either 41 or 42 hours, including daily meal breaks for one hour. The new model contracts was introduced on the 1st July 2013, which standardise the working hours to 42 hours which was applicable to all new staff as well as those staff being promoted into or within SCS, from that date forward.

Prisons: Drugs

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Government's Drugs Taskforce on improving the safety and healthcare of prisoners.

Rory Stewart: Our Drugs Taskforce, which works with law enforcement and health partners across government, was launched earlier this year and so it is too early to see its full impact. However, it is already working with ten of the most challenging prisons to understand their situation and will invest £6 million to tackle drug supply in these establishments. We will enhance physical security and invest in more staff focused on effective searching, drug detection dogs, body scanners, and improved perimeter defences. We will monitor and assess the progress made in these ten prisons to inform our approach and best practice across the estate. The Drugs Taskforce is also developing a national Drug Strategy, underpinned by advice and guidance that will support the whole of the estate to restrict supply, reduce demand and build recovery. We are also adopting pioneering approaches such as our ‘Drug Recovery Prison’ pilot at HMP Holme House, which is leading the way in tackling the supply of drugs and helping prisoners to lead a drug-free life.

Leasehold: Forfeiture

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many forfeitures of residential leaseholds have taken place following the serving of a section 146 notice of the Law and Property Act 1925 in each of the last five years.

Lucy Frazer: The information requested could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Crime: Victims

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what provisions will be made to safeguard the rights of victims undergoing cross-examination as part of the Government's Victim's Strategy, published in September 2018, Cm. 9700 .

Edward Argar: We have published the first cross-government Victims Strategy that makes clear our commitment to better support victims and witnesses during the court process. There are a range of special measures in place for vulnerable and intimidated witnesses, including victims who have to give evidence, in criminal justice proceedings to help them give their best evidence. These include, arrangements for live video links and screens around the witness box. Courts are also able to order that vulnerable witnesses receive assistance with communication, including the use of an intermediary, to help them understand the question they are being asked and to give their answers accurately. Pre-recorded cross-examination (or section 28) is the last special measure in relation to witnesses other than the accused to be implemented and we remain committed to rolling it out for vulnerable witnesses in Crown Court centres in England and Wales. Section 28 will also be tested for intimidated witnesses who are victims of sexual offences and modern slavery offences in three Crown Court centres. We will encourage take up of pre-trial therapy. The Crown Prosecution Service are reviewing existing guidance and will publish new guidance and a toolkit for prosecutors and therapists following its completion. Specialist training on cross-examining witnesses has been developed for advocates by the Inns of Court College for Advocacy to ensure they are able to give their best evidence. Advocates are also subject to professional regulation by the Bar Standards Board and Solicitors Regulation Authority.

Crime: Victims

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what provisions will be made under the Government's Victim's strategy, published in September 2018, Cm. 9700 to support the mental health of victims.

Edward Argar: We want to ensure victims have access to the support services they need to help them cope with and, as far as possible, recover from the effects of crime. The Victims Strategy sets out commitments to develop a new delivery model for victim support services; coordinating and combining funding for these services across government to increase its impact, and improving access between victim services, including third sector and statutory services. NHS England is prioritising the delivery of mental health services as part of their long term plan, to utilise the extra investment announced by the Prime Minister on 18 June 2018. This work is still under review and an announcement will be made in due course.

Crime: Victims

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether the Government plans to establish an Independent Violence Advocate as part of the Victim's Strategy, published in September 2018, Cm. 9700.

Edward Argar: In the Victims Strategy published on 10 September, we committed to reviewing the current victims supporters landscape. Our review will enable us to identify any gaps in the services currently available to victims and ensure all victims of crime have access to the support and protections they need. We will await the outcome of the review before deciding whether further supporter roles are required.

Criminal Injuries Compensation

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when he plans to publish full details of the Government's review into the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme.

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the timescale is for the Government's review into the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme.

Edward Argar: Further details of the review of the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme announced in the Victims Strategy will be provided in due course.

Parc Prison

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking in response to the Independent Monitoring Board report on HMP Parc.

Rory Stewart: I have written to the Chair of the Independent Monitoring Board to express my gratitude for their hard work and observations.I was encouraged by the comments that HMP/YOI Parc remains a well-managed prison where prisoners are treated respectfully and their safety is of paramount importance. The new initiatives including the introduction of mental health pathways aimed at prioritising referrals and improving support, and the regular Healthcare Newsletter are to be applauded.HMPPS has taken decisive action to combat the threat of drugs on prisons and has formed a Drugs Taskforce, working with law enforcement and health partners across government, to restrict supply, reduce demand and build recovery. The Taskforce is providing support across the estate but is focused on the prisons with the worst drug problems.Locally at HMP/YOI Parc, a dedicated group of staff have been recruited to cover the visits CCTV and visitor searching; this has provided greater continuity of cover and has led to an improvement in the quality of searching. The prison continues to work closely with South Wales Police and other National Crime Agencies gathering intelligence in order to disrupt organised crime both within the prison and outside. G4S are also in the process of recruiting 35 new officers as part of the HMPPS Offender Management in Custody (OMIC) Model.It is recognised that levels of violence remain too high, with a disproportionate percentage still taking place across the Youth Secure Estate. As the Board has observed, one factor which exacerbates this is the ever-changing population of challenging children and young people, many from further afield than the local catchment area. However, from July 2017 to June 2018, only 25.2% of placements into Parc YOI on average were young people who did not belong to Welsh or South Western Youth Offending teams.A Behaviour Management Strategy is being developed, which aims to address risks and needs at the lowest possible level through early intervention and an initial universal approach, with increasing levels of intensity and specialisation based on individual need to prevent further deterioration in behaviour. In addition to this, HMP/YOI Parc is developing a Behaviour Management Strategy in conjunction with the University of South Wales and working with the Children’s Commissioner for Wales to embed the Rights of the Child into the Strategy.

Crime: Victims

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the timetable is for the consultation on the victims' law.

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, for how long the consultation on the victims' law will be open.

Edward Argar: In the Victims Strategy, published on 10 September, we committed to bring forward proposals for a consultation on the detail of a Victims’ Law. As I said in this House, when announcing the publication of the Victims Strategy, we plan to consult in 2019. In taking this work forward we have already begun discussions with victims and victims groups. In undertaking a consultation we will follow Government guidance, which states that consultations should last for a proportionate amount of time for effective engagement. We will announce the length of time the consultation will be open when it is launched.

Disasters

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the timetable for the consultation process on establishing an independent public advocate is.

Edward Argar: The consultation on the Independent Public Advocate began on Monday 10 September and closes on Monday 3 December. The consultation document is available at https://consult.justice.gov.uk/digital-communications/establishing-an-independent-public-advocate/

Sexual Assault Referral Centres: Finance

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether the £8 million spending increase for sexual assault referral centres set out in the Victims' Strategy, published in September 2018, Cm. 9700, will come from existing budgets.

Edward Argar: The Victims Strategy sets out commitments to ensure that victims of crime, including victims of sexual abuse, have access to the support services they need to help them cope with and, as far as possible, recover from the effects of crime. Sexual assault referral centres (SARCs) are funded by the Department of Health and Social Care and commissioning responsibility is delegated to NHS England. The £8 million spending increase for SARCs set out in the Strategy is additional funding on top of the £31 million existing budget.

Domestic Violence

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when the Government plans to publish its response to its consultation on domestic abuse.

Edward Argar: We have sought views on what more the Government can do to support victims of domestic abuse (Consultation: Transforming the Response to Domestic Abuse). The consultation closed on 31 May and we are considering the responses ahead of publishing a formal Government response in the autumn 2018.

Crime: Victims

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the overall cost is of spending commitments pledged in the Government's Victim's Strategy, published in September 2018, Cm. 9700.

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether the spending commitments pledged in the Government's Victim's Strategy, published in September 2018, Cm. 9700 will come from existing budgets.

Edward Argar: The Victims Strategy brings together, for the first time, funding which Government and agencies spend on supporting victims of crime, which is roughly £200 million a year. The strategy sets out existing commitments to increase funding for victims of approximately £37 million. We have also committed to ensuring that funding is better coordinated and goes to the right place at the right time.

Registered Intermediaries

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate his Department has made of the cost of increasing the number of registered intermediaries as set out in the Victims Strategy, published in September 2018, Cm. 9700.

Lucy Frazer: The Ministry of Justice expects to spend up to £460,000 running the Witness Intermediary Scheme in 2018/19, which includes the cost of recruitment and training. The cost of individual cases is born by the end user (e.g. the police or CPS).

Probation: Reform

Richard Graham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of reforms to the probation system.

Rory Stewart: We have a diverse range of providers delivering probation services, and an additional 40,000 offenders each year receiving supervision and support after release from custody. While Community Rehabilitation Companies have reduced reoffending by two percentage points since 2015, we have been clear that probation needs to improve. We set out in our consultation in July our intention to end the current CRC contracts in 2020 and put in place new structures which will enable private, public and third-sector providers to help further reduce reoffending.

Department for International Trade

Coast to Capital Local Enterprise Partnership: Foreign Investment in UK

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what estimate he has made of the amount of foreign direct investment into the Coast to Capital local enterprise partnership area since 2016.

Graham Stuart: Although we do not publish data specifically for this particular enterprise partnership, the South East region has seen a steady increase in the past few years. The region saw 217 FDI projects increase to 294 from 2016/17 to 2017/18 with 5,432 and 5,238 new jobs being created in each year. This demonstrates the attractiveness of the UK regions to foreign investment, and the benefits these investments bring to our economy. The UK remains the number one foreign direct investment destination in Europe.

Department for International Trade: Working Hours

Gareth Snell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what the contracted hours are for the highest paid member of staff in his Department.

George Hollingbery: The highest paid member of staff in DIT is contracted to work a minimum of 42 hours per week. This includes a provision for daily meal breaks of one hour.

Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

Revenue Support Grant

Vernon Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the effect of negative revenue support grant on (a) local authorities and (b) other bodies; and if he will make a statement.

Rishi Sunak: The potential effect of ‘negative revenue support grant’ on local authorities in 2019-20 can be seen in the Tariff/Top-up adjustment column, in tables contained within the Publication “Key information for local authorities: final local government finance settlement 2016 to 2017”:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/key-information-for-local-authorities-final-local-government-finance-settlement-2016-to-2017Concerns around the effect of negative Revenue Support Grant (RSG) have been raised by local authorities in previous consultations. The Government’s preferred option for addressing negative RSG is simply not to reflect negative RSG in local authorities’ business rates top-ups and tariffs, leaving the money with local authorities.The 2019-20 Settlement technical consultation, published on 24 July, closed on 18 September, and we plan a statement to the House following analysis of consultation responses.

Local Government: Staffordshire

Gareth Snell: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what recent discussions (a) he and (b) officials of his Department have had with (i) Stoke-on-Trent City Council, (ii) Staffordshire County Council, (iii) Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council, (iv) Staffordshire Moorlands District Council and (v) Stafford Borough Council on local government reorganisation in Staffordshire.

Rishi Sunak: Ministers and officials from my Department have regular discussions with local authorities covering a wide range of subjects, which can include local government reorganisation, but we have had no specific discussions with these councils about local government reorganisation in Staffordshire.

Community Development: Local Government Finance

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what recent estimate he has made of the number of local authorities that have overspent on funding for community resource centres.

Rishi Sunak: As democratically accountable organisations, it is up to local authorities to determine their spending priorities and manage their budgets appropriately. Over this spending period, local authorities will be able to access over £200 billion to deliver local services, includingcommunity support services.The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government does not collect the information requested. Figures on local authority expenditure, including community centres and public halls, are collected on the Revenue Outturn (RO) form, which is available here online 121: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/local-authority-revenue-expenditure-and-financing-england-2016-to-2017-individual-local-authority-data-outturn

Social Rented Housing

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many social houses have been purchased by the tenants of those homes in each of the last three years.

Kit Malthouse: The following numbers of social tenants bought their homes in the last three years. These figures include the Statutory Right to Buy, the Preserved Right to Buy, the Right to Acquire and the initial Voluntary Right to Buy pilot where appropriate.2014/15: 16,8992015/16: 16,6232016/17: 18,690Comparable figures for 2017/18 are not yet available as we are still awaiting figures on the Preserved Right to Buy and Right to Acquire.These figures are taken from tables 677 (for the Right to Acquire) and 678 (for all Right to Buy schemes), viewable online at:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-social-housing-salesPlease note that figures for the Right to Acquire are rounded to the nearest 10.

Social Rented Housing: Waiting Lists

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many people are on the waiting list for social housing; and what steps he is taking to reduce the waiting time for social housing.

Kit Malthouse: The Department publishes figures on social housing waiting lists in Live Table 600 which can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-rents-lettings-and-tenancies.We have given local authorities flexibility to manage their waiting lists since 2012.We are committed to increasing the supply of social housing and have made £9 billion available through the Affordable Homes Programme to March 2022 to deliver 250,000 new affordable homes of a wide range of tenures, including social rent.The Prime Minister has announced that we will be lifting the Housing Revenue Account borrowing cap. This will enable local authorities to borrow prudentially to support a new generation of council housing.

Social Rented Housing: Construction

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how much funding his Department has allocated for the building of new social housing.

Kit Malthouse: The Government is committed to increasing the supply of social housing and has made £9 billion available through the Affordable Homes Programme to March 2022.This funding is delegated to Homes England and the GLA to deliver 250,000 new affordable homes across the country, with a wide range of tenures, including social rent. Homes England will deliver at least 12,500 social rent homes in areas of high affordability pressure, outside of London.

Sleeping Rough: Foreign Nationals

Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to improve support for people who sleep rough who are non-UK nationals.

Mrs Heather Wheeler: No one should ever have to sleep rough, regardless of background or nationality. That is why we have committed to halving rough sleeping by 2022 and ending it by 2027.On the 13 August 2018 the government published the Rough Sleeping Strategy in which we laid out a number of new interventions to improve support for non-UK nationals who sleep rough. This includes:additional training for frontline staff;an additional Home Office Rough Sleeping Support team to support and resolve the immigration status of non-UK national rough sleepers; anda £5 million fund to help local areas support non-UK nationals off the streets.These interventions compliment the £100 million Controlling Migration Fund, which has already supported a number of projects to help non-UK nationals away from the street and is currently open to further bids from local authorities.The Rough Sleeping Strategy is published here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/733421/Rough-Sleeping-Strategy_WEB.pdf

Affordable Housing: Construction

Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to increase the number of affordable homes that are built in the UK.

Kit Malthouse: We have announced a range measures to support housing associations and local authorities to build more genuinely affordable homes across England.We are lifting the Housing Revenue Account borrowing cap so that local authorities can deliver a new generation of council housing and we have made £9 billion available through the Affordable Homes Programme to March 2022 to deliver 250,000 new affordable homes of a wide range of tenures, including social rent homes where they are needed most.The Prime Minister recently announced a £2 billion long term funding pilot, starting in 2022, committing this funding up to 2028-29. This ten year funding commitment marks the first time any government has offered housing associations such long-term funding certainty.We have also confirmed long-term rent certainty for social landlords in England and in August we published our consultation on options for allowing local authorities more flexibility in the use of their Right to Buy receipts.Affordable housing provision in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland is a devolved matter.

First Time Buyers: Merseyside

Ms Angela Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many new starter homes have been built in (a) Wallasey and (b) Merseyside in each of the last two years.

Kit Malthouse: No starter homes have yet been built as the regulations required to define them are not yet in place. The new National Planning Policy Framework, published in July this year, brought starter homes within the definition of affordable housing, as per our Housing White Paper commitment. We expect to make an announcement on the next steps for starter homes in the near future.In the meantime we are supporting people's aspirations to buy through a range of initiatives including Help to Buy, Right to Buy, greater funding for Shared Ownership and Rent to Buy. Since Spring 2010 Government-backed schemes have helped over 481,000 households to buy a home and the number of first-time buyers is at a nine-year annual high. The Stamp Duty exemption for first time buyers announced last autumn helped 121,500 people by June 2018.

Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government: Staff

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many staff (a) are employed directly by (b) are seconded to and (c) work under contract to his Department.

Jake Berry: As of 31 August 2018, the Department employed 2115 or 2063.6 full-time equivalent staff (fte) in either a directly employed, inward interchange, or contingent labour basis, broken down as follows:Directly employed – 1960 staff / 1911.5 fte, of which;1862 / 1815.8 fte are currently on payroll98 / 95.7 fte are on unpaid leave of absenceInward interchange – 112 staff / 109.1 fte, of which;75 / 73.3 fte are employed on inward loans37 / 35.8 are employed on inward secondmentsContingent labour – 43 staff / 43 fte

Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government: Living Wage

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many staff in his Department that work (a) inside and (b) outside Greater London are paid at a rate below the Real Living Wage.

Jake Berry: Other than short-term interns, no directly employed staff are paid less than the hourly rate of pay determined by the Real Living Wage.The Department follows the Government's best practice guidance relating to the minimum wage, work experience and internships and Living Wage accreditation does not require employers to pay the Living Wage to volunteers, apprentices or interns. At the end of August 2018 the Department employed 12 summer interns on contracts lasting no longer than 12 weeks. Interns employed on this basis, both inside and outside of Greater London, earned at least £9.36 per hour which is above the recommended national minimum wage of £7.38 per hour.

Travellers: Caravan Sites

Mr Mark Francois: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many responses were received to the consultation, Powers for dealing with unauthorised development and encampments, which closed on 15 June 2018.

Kit Malthouse: The Government has received 2,196 representations in response to the consultation Powers for dealing with unauthorised development and encampments.

Homelessness: Pregnancy

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what recent estimate he has made of the number of pregnant women who are homeless in (a) Coventry and (b) England.

Mrs Heather Wheeler: Official homelessness statistics confirm how many women have been accepted as statutorily homeless, who are pregnant but do not already have children in their care. The most recent figures suggest that in Q1 2018 there were 6 such cases in Coventry and 900 in England.We have recently enacted the Homelessness Reduction Act which means that more people will be helped sooner and local authorities will move away from crisis intervention towards prevention.

Neighbourhood Development Plans

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the (a) effect on and (b) additional costs incurred by (i) local planning authorities and (ii) qualifying bodies producing a Neighbourhood Development Plan of undertaking assessments of the implications for European Sites of those plans.

Kit Malthouse: Officials from my Department are aware of the judgment and are continuing to monitor a range of implications. No formal assessment has been made of the likely costs of the ruling for Local Planning Authorities or Qualifying Bodies.

Neighbourhood Development Plans

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will make an assessment of the effect of the requirements relating to Habitats Regulations Assessments and European Sites on the ability of qualifying bodies to produce a Neighbourhood Development Plan.

Kit Malthouse: Officials from my Department are aware of the judgment and are continuing to monitor a range of implications.

High Rise Flats: Fire Prevention

Dame Louise Ellman: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what recent steps he has taken to ensure that leaseholders in privately-owned blocks do not have to fund the replacement of cladding and remedial fire safety measures following the Grenfell Tower tragedy; and if he will he make a statement.

Kit Malthouse: Ministers have been very clear that in the private sector it is the responsibility of the building owner, or responsible person, to fund the measures necessary to ensure the safety of residents and must do all they can to protect leaseholders from additional costs. We are encouraged by those in the sector, such as Barratt Developments, Mace, Legal & General and Taylor Wimpey, who are doing the right thing and taking responsibility, and we expect others to follow their lead.The Secretary of State has recently written to all private sector building owners who are currently committed to passing costs to leaseholders, and to those who are yet to make clear their plans to remediate their buildings, or their intention to pass on costs.These letters set the expectation that there is a moral imperative for private sector landlords to do the right thing and remove unsafe cladding quickly and not leave leaseholders to cover the cost. We have made clear that we have ruled out no options if industry, individual building owners, or developers do not come forward with their own solutions.

Housing

Steve Double: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, when he plans to publish his Department’s response to the consultation, Strengthening consumer redress in housing, which closed on 16 April 2018.

Mrs Heather Wheeler: The recent consultation “Strengthening consumer redress in the housing market” sought views on how to ensure consumers have access to appropriate redress when things go wrong with their housing. This included considering whether bringing together redress schemes into a single housing ombudsman service could help simplify access.We have been considering responses to the consultation and intend to publish our response later this year.

Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government: Staff

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many staff in his Department that work (a) inside and (b) outside Greater London are paid at a rate below the London Living Wage.

Jake Berry: Other than short-term interns, no directly employed staff are paid less than the hourly rate of pay determined by the London Living Wage.The Department follows the Government’s best practice guidance relating to the minimum wage, work experience and internships and the Living Wage accreditation does not require employers to pay the London or Real Living Wage to volunteers, apprentices or interns.At the end of August 2018 the Department employed 12 summer interns on contracts lasting no longer than 12 weeks. Interns employed on this basis, both inside and outside of Greater London, earned at least £9.36 per hour which is above the recommended national minimum wage of £7.38 per hour.

Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government: Working Hours

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what the contracted hours are for the highest paid member of staff in his Department.

Jake Berry: Senior Civil Servants are contracted to work a minimum (over a 5 day week) of either 41 or 42 hours, including daily meal breaks for one hour.The new model contract was introduced on 1 July 2013. This standardises working hours to 42 hours. This was applicable to all new staff as well as those staff being promoted into or within the Senior Civil Service, from that date forward.

Business Improvement Districts

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what his Department's policy is on business improvement districts using local authorities as debt enforcers to collect levies from council-owned services.

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the oversight of business improvement districts; and what recourse is available to individuals who wish to object to debt enforcement conducted by business improvement districts.

Jake Berry: Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) are business-led partnerships which are created voluntarily to deliver additional local services and upgrade the local environment for the benefit of the wider area. BIDs have had many successes as a model of how local business can work together to realise the potential of towns and high streets.A BID is a self-defined area in which local businesses vote to raise a levy on business rates on businesses in the area. This levy is collected and enforced by the local authority and used by the BID organisation to undertake projects that benefit the local area. The Business Improvement Districts (England) Regulations 2004 sets out the relevant processes for the billing administration of the BID levy.Whether a business is liable is for the BID proposer and the relevant billing authority to determine. Before going to ballot, the proposer of the BID must submit a proposal which outlines the geographical area, the levy amount, the projects the proposed BID will undertake, and what businesses will be liable for the levy.The Secretary of State has a responsibility to investigate where complaints are made that material irregularities have occurred in the balloting process. If a business or individual is unhappy with the service provided by their BID, they should in the first instance get in touch with their local authority as the development and operational arrangements, including debt enforcement, of a BID are a matter for the relevant local authority and BID. If further action is required, they could also contact the Local Government Ombudsman at:The Local Government Ombudsman  PO Box 4771  Coventry  CV4 0EH

Affordable Housing: Construction

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 23 May 2018 to Question 145529 on affordable housing: construction, what estimate he has made of how many fewer homes will be delivered in the short-term; and if he will make a statement.

Kit Malthouse: Homes England continually works with the sector to maximise the delivery of affordable homes and has entered into eight strategic partnerships with some of the biggest housing associations in order to bring forward developments and accelerate the supply of affordable homes. These partnerships will deliver an additional 14,280 homes by March 2022.

Housing: Construction

Dr Alan Whitehead: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether it is his policy to commence section 43 of the Deregulation Act 2015.

Dr Alan Whitehead: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether local authorities are legally empowered to set higher energy efficiency standards than those required by building regulations.

Dr Alan Whitehead: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Written Statement of 25 March 2015 on Planning Update, HCWS488, whether it is his Department's policy that local authorities will continue to be able to set and apply policies in their local plans which require compliance with energy performance standards that exceed the energy requirements of Building Regulations.

Dr Alan Whitehead: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether local authorities can set energy efficiency standards higher than Level 4 of the former Code for Sustainable Homes.

Kit Malthouse: The Government has no current plans to commence Section 43 of the Deregulation Act 2015. Local authorities may include in their local plans policies which set reasonable requirements for new development to meet higher energy performance standards than those required in building regulations. Policies must not be inconsistent with relevant national policies. The Written Ministerial Statement of 25 March 2015 set out relevant national policy.

Help to Buy Scheme

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 12 July 2018 to Question 159639 on Help to Buy Scheme, what the total amount of money loaned was in relation to the 3,905 equity loans taken out on leasehold properties.

Kit Malthouse: For these 3,905 homes, £163,231,903 was lent in Help to Buy: Equity Loans by the government.

Retail Trade: Ellesmere Port and Neston

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to his answer of 16 July 2018 to Question 162084 Retail Trade: Ellesmere Port and Neston, how much of that £201.1 million is planned to be spent in Ellesmere Port & Neston Constituency.

Jake Berry: The Government is investing £201.1 million in Growth Deals in the Cheshire and Warrington Local Enterprise Partnership area. Growth Deal 1 and 2 allocations are creating up to 12,000 jobs and generating up to £280 million in public and private investment.Within the Ellesmere Port & Neston Constituency, the Cheshire & Warrington Local Enterprise Partnership plans to spend up to £18.9 million of its Growth Deal to deliver four key projects: the Thornton Energy Demonstrator; Cheshire College South & West’s Ellesmere Port & Chester Campus; the Ellesmere Port Central Development Zone and the Sutton Way Boulevard. The Energy Demonstrator and the College projects are already completed.All projects will be approved and delivered in accordance with the Local Enterprise Partnership’s published Local Assurance & Accountability Framework.

Domestic Violence: Housing

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to page 23 of the Victims Strategy, published in September 2018, Cm. 9700, whether the spending commitment of £18.8m on domestic abuse accommodation services will come from existing budgets.

Mrs Heather Wheeler: Domestic abuse is an abhorrent crime that nobody should have to suffer. The Government is committed to protecting victims of domestic abuse. In the 2015 Spending Review, my Department secured £40 million to support victims of domestic abuse. Funding for the 2018-20 £18.8 million fund for accommodation-based domestic abuse services comes from this £40 million. The fund was open to all local authorities across England to bid for a share and we will be announcing the successful projects in due course.Our 2016-18 £20 million fund was also delivered with Spending Review 2015 funding. This supported 80 projects across 258 local authorities in England, helping to create more than 2,000 bed spaces in safe accommodation, including refuge, and giving support to over 19,000 victims and their families.

Leasehold

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether the Government plans to bring forward legislative proposals in response to the tackling unfair lease practices in the leasehold market consultation.

Mrs Heather Wheeler: On 21 December 2017, the Government set out a package of measures to tackle abuses and unfair practices in the leasehold market. This includes introducing legislation to prohibit the development of new build leasehold houses, other than in exceptional circumstances, and restricting ground rents in newly established leases of houses and flats to a peppercorn.We are also working with the Law Commission to support existing leaseholders - including making buying a freehold or extending a lease easier, faster, fairer and cheaper.We will bring forward legislation as soon as Parliamentary time allows.

Ministry of Defence

Burma: Military Aid

Jeff Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what (a) funding and (b) technical support has been given by the UK Government to the military of the Government of Myanmar in each of the last three years.

Mark Lancaster: The UK Ministry of Defence has not provided any direct funding or combat training to the Burmese Military.The UK's defence engagement strategy with Burma has focussed on securing long term change in their military through education, providing access to courses such as Psychology of Leadership, Building Integrity for Senior Leaders and Managing Defence in Wider Security Context.This programme with Burma has cost a total of £448,375 over the previous three years (September 2015 - September 2018). It was agreed in consultation with the civilian government and complied with the UK's obligations under the EU Arms Embargo.On 19 September 2017, in light of the ongoing violence in Burma's Rakhine State, the growing humanitarian crisis it has caused, and our deep concern about the human rights abuses that are taking place, the Secretary of State for Defence took the decision to suspend these educational courses provided to the Burmese military.In support of the UK's Safety of Life at Sea obligation and the UK Hydrographic Office's (UKHO) contribution to developing the capabilities of coastal states to enable safe navigation, the UKHO has trained one member of the Myanmar Navy Hydrographic Centre in nautical cartography in 2015. Through the International Hydrographic Organisation, UKHO has also supported the provision of data processing and navigational chart production training.

Armed Forces: Pay

Wayne David: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Written Statement of 24 July 2018, Ministry of Defence - Update, HCWS 909, when his Department was first aware that military personnel would be unable to receive their 0.9 per cent non-consolidated one-off payment as a result of issues with the online payroll system.

Wayne David: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Written Statement of 24 July 2018 on Ministry of Defence -Update, HCWS909, when (a) his Department's online payroll system will process and (b) service personnel will receive the 0.9 per cent non-consolidated one-off payment.

Gavin Williamson: The non-consolidated aspect of the pay award has never previously been a part of the remunerative offer for Service personnel and, as a result, the Department has always been aware that additional time would be required to build this feature into the system. The delay was not a result of issues with the online payroll system.We are currently working to deliver the one-off payment, which is planned to be made to Service personnel by the end of the financial year, backdated to 1 April 2018.

Ministry of Defence: Temporary Employment

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many staff in his Department are classified as contingent labour.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: As at August 2018, there were 840 staff classified as contingent labour in the Ministry of Defence.

Defence Medical Services: ICT

Mr Mark Francois: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many user terminals there are in the Defence Medical Services IT system.

Mr Mark Francois: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when the IT system used by Defence Medical Services was introduced; and whether that system has been upgraded.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: Any terminal of MODNet, the Defence IT system, can be configured for use with the Defence Medical Services IT system (Defence Medical Information Capability Programme - DMICP). In addition, 214 DMICP laptops are available for deployed operations and exercises. As an illustrative snapshot, in August 2018 there were 5,746 unique users (fixed and deployed) registered on the system. DMICP went live at the first medical facility, at Chicksands, on 16 February 2007 and was then rolled out site by site. Since DMICP was introduced, it has been subject to a number of changes and improvements. Defence is in the process of replacing DMICP to better support the delivery of healthcare. In the meantime, updates continue to be made to improve performance.

Ministry of Defence: Living Wage

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many staff in his Department that work (a) inside and (b) outside Greater London are paid at a rate below the Real Living Wage.

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many staff in his Department that work (a) inside and (b) outside Greater London are paid at a rate below the London Living Wage.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The Ministry of Defence (MOD) pays over and above the National Living Wage, which was increased to £7.83 per hour in April 2018. The MOD has not formally signed up to the Living Wage Rates, as defined by the Living Wage Foundation. In 2015 the then Secretary of State for Defence agreed that all London-based staff should be paid at least the equivalent of the Living Wage Foundation's London Living Wage rate. The MOD continues to pay above that rate.

Armed Forces: Attachment of Earnings

Martyn Day: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that Child Maintenance Service deduction from earnings requests are complied with; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Member for Broxtowe (Anna Soubry) on 18 March 2015 to Question 227283 to the former hon. Member for Colchester (Sir Bob Russell).https://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/2015-03-11/227283/



Child Maintenance Service payments
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Defence Medical Services: ICT

Mr Mark Francois: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the current status of the future IT system for the Defence Medical Services is; and what the (a) product name, (b) estimated cost, (c) estimated date for the initial operational capability of the programme is; and what the position of that programme within the MOD equipment plan is.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: Programme CORTISONE will deliver a medical information system made up of several commercial off-the-shelf products and services combined using an integration platform. Costs and product names are subject to procurement processes that have yet to commence. Currently, the estimated date for CORTISONE's Initial Operating Capability is July 2022. CORTISONE is a fully funded programme and is affordable within allocated control totals.

Ministry of Defence Police: Retirement

Stewart Malcolm McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he plans to introduce an enhanced effective pension age of 60 years for Ministry of Defence police officers.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him by my hon. Friend, the Parliamentary Secretary for the Cabinet Office (Oliver Dowden) on 27 February 2018 to Question 128477.



Ministry of Defence Police: Pensions
(Word Document, 22 KB)

Ministry of Defence: Working Hours

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the contracted hours are for the highest paid member of staff in his Department.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The highest paid civilian staff member in the Ministry of Defence is a Senior Civil Servant, contracted to work a minimum of 42 hours over a five day week, including unpaid daily meal breaks for one hour.Senior Civil Servants may be required to work additional hours where reasonable and necessary for the efficient performance of their duties, for which they are not eligible to be paid overtime.Contractual terms and conditions for all Senior Civil Servants are managed centrally by the Cabinet Office.

Armed Forces: Recruitment

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many armed forces recruitment centres there were in the North East of England in each of the last five years.

Mark Lancaster: The Ministry of Defence has two Armed Forces Career Centres in the North East of England, in Middlesbrough and Newcastle, and that number has remained consistent over the past five years.

Department for Work and Pensions

Personal Independence Payment

Kate Hollern: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking in response to the findings of its report, Personal Independence Payment Claimant Research – Final Report, published in September 2018, to improve the application process for personal independence payment claimants.

Sarah Newton: We are absolutely committed to improving the overall Personal Independence Payment (PIP) claimant experience as this is what claimants rightly expect and deserve. The three waves of research that have been completed, and were published in the PIP Claimant Research – Final Report have provided valuable insights, alongside other sources, to make improvements to the PIP application process. Here are some of the key improvements we have made to the PIP application process:In April 2018 we increased our use of SMS text messages to better keep claimants updated about the progress of their claimIn April 2018 we launched a series of PIP videos to help claimants better navigate and understand the PIP claims process and the types of supporting evidence to send and;In October 2016 (after the wave 1 fieldwork), we published a revised version of the PIP2 questionnaire where the language, style and tone of the form was simplified, and paragraphs were shortened to make it easier to understand and more focused for claimants to complete; However, I recognise that there is more to do to improve the application process and that is why we will be commissioning independent research to support further improvements to the PIP2 questionnaire. In addition to the independent research, we are also progressing options to video record PIP face-to-face assessments to help increase people’s trust in the assessment process. We have been working over the summer to gather views from claimants, representative bodies and health professionals on video recording in order to inform a live testing pilot later in the year, which will inform wider rollout decisions.

Universal Credit: Housing

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 6 September 2018 to Question 168974, whether people claiming universal credit and living in (a) specified supported and (b) supported exempt accommodation who do not receive care, support or supervision as part of their tenancy terms and conditions are entitled to housing benefit or the housing element of universal credit.

Justin Tomlinson: People living in specified accommodation, as set out in Housing Benefit Circular A8/2014 are entitled to Housing Benefit in respect of their housing costs, rather than support for housing costs through Universal Credit. It is not necessary for the provision of care, support or supervision to be part of the tenancy agreement, however, it must be provided:By the landlord,On the landlord’s behalf;By a third party using a property provided by a social landlord or non-profit charitable or voluntary organisation where the claimant must have been placed to meet an identified need.

Scotland Act 1998 (Agency Arrangements) (Specification) Order 2018

Ian Murray: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what her Department's policy is on the length of time that the provisions of the Scotland Act 1998 (Agency Arrangements) (Specification) Order 2018 will remain in place.

Alok Sharma: This Order allows for Agency Agreements to be put in place that enable the Department to continue to deliver devolved benefits to customers living in Scotland until the Scottish Government are able to take over delivery. The provisions in the Order itself will not come to an end, however any Agency Agreements covering the specific devolved benefits will be subject to the UK and Scottish Governments agreement and considered on a case by case basis, including the length of those agreements. The first such Agency Agreement recently signed by the Department and the Scottish Government for the continued payment of Carer’s Allowance covers a period of two years. This Agreement may be varied, or the term of the Agreement extended, if the Department and the Scottish Government agree.

Housing Benefit: Social Rented Housing

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many households are subject to the under-occupancy penalty in each constituency; what the average weekly reduction in income is for those households; and in how many of those households there is a claimant or partner who (a) receives (i) disability living allowance, (ii) personal independence payment and (iii) employment and support allowance and (b) has children.

Justin Tomlinson: Figures on Housing Benefit spare room subsidy deductions in Great Britain are publically available through the DWP Stat-Xplore website. Both volumes and average deductions by parliamentary constituency are available, including broken down by whether or not the household has children. Stat-Xplore website:https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/jsf/login.xhtml Guidance for users is available at:https://sw.stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/Getting-Started.html However, breakdowns by whether or not the claimant or partner also receives any of the specified disability benefits are not publicly available and so have been provided in the table attached. The Government has provided easements to allow an additional bedroom for couples and children who are unable to share a bedroom due to their disability or medical condition and are in receipt of a relevant qualifying benefit, or where a non-resident overnight carer (or group of carers) is required for an adult, child or non-dependant adult on a regular basis.



Breakdowns table
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Universal Credit

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if her Department will collect and publish the average time taken to respond to a message that a universal credit claimant has posted in their journal.

Alok Sharma: The Department does not plan to publish the data requested.

Children: Poverty

Ms Angela Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of children were living in poverty in (a) Wirral and (b) Merseyside in each year since 2010.

Justin Tomlinson: National statistics on the number of people in relative low income are set out in the annual "Households Below Average Income" publication. The number and proportion of children in relative low income is not available at local authority or constituency level in this publication because the survey sample sizes are too small to support the production of robust estimates at this geography. 3-year estimates for the North West of the proportion and number of children in relative low income are available in Table 4.16ts and Table 4.17ts using the following link. https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/692047/children-hbai-timeseries-1994-95-2016-17-tables.ods

Pensions: Consumer Information

Mr Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Written Statement of 4 September 2018 on Pensions Update, HCWS933, what role industry will have in the delivery of the pensions dashboard; whether the Government plans to fund that dashboard; and how the Government plans to facilitate the delivery of that dashboard.

Guy Opperman: As set out in the Written Statement, https://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-statement/Commons/2018-09-04/HCWS933/an industry-led dashboard, facilitated by Government, will harness the best of industry innovation while safeguarding consumer interests and protecting their information. The Department for Work and Pensions will continue to engage with industry, consumer groups and other stakeholders on this model. The Government will protect pension savers and personal information by legislating where necessary. As part of our feasibility work we are still considering the many complex issues involved in developing a dashboard, including those of funding and delivery models. We will shortly report on the findings of the Feasibility Study.

Jobcentres: Hamilton

Angela Crawley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when the lease on the office block accommodating the Hamilton Job Centre expires; and whether her Department plans to renew that lease.

Justin Tomlinson: DWP occupies space at Cameronian House, Hamilton, through an intra-government agreement (a Memorandum of Terms of Occupation - MOTO) with the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service. A new MOTO is in the process of being exchanged extending DWPs occupation of Cameronian House through to 2020. DWP is currently reviewing its strategic plans for its entire property portfolio, including Cameronian House and, expects to publish its revised Strategic Asset Management plan by the end of the current calendar year.

Support for Mortgage Interest

Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people in receipt of Support for Mortgage Interest before April 2018 continue to receive that benefit.

Justin Tomlinson: Support for Mortgage Interest was converted from a benefit into a loan from April 2018. A small number of vulnerable claimants continue to receive Support for Mortgage Interest benefit as transitional protection. Information on how many is not available.

Support for Mortgage Interest

Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average length of time is for a Support for Mortgage Interest payment to be transferred to a loan.

Justin Tomlinson: Before being offered an SMI loan, claimants are given information about how the SMI loan will work, about alternatives to the loan and organisations that may offer further information and support. This is followed up by telephone calls to explain the information and answer any questions. A leaflet containing Frequently Asked Questions is issued to support this informed discussion. Where a claimant expresses an interest in taking up the offer of an SMI loan they will be sent a loan agreement and charge form to complete and return. They also receive detailed guidance on how to complete these documents The Department determines that a minimum of 6 weeks is given for claimants to make a decision whether to take up the offer of an SMI loan. The Department ask that the loan agreement and charge form are returned soon as reasonably possible to enable them to be processed efficiently. A reminder is sent out after six weeks if the documents have not been received. Claimants may change their mind whether to take or decline a loan at any time. Returned forms are checked for accuracy, and if correctly completed we would expect that, in the majority of cases, SMI Loan payments would be authorised within two weeks.

Social Security Benefits

Drew Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average processing time is for DS1500 forms for new claims for (a) universal credit, (b) personal independence payments, (c) disability living allowance, (d) employment and support allowance and (e) attendance allowance in the latest period for which figures are available.

Drew Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average processing time is for DS1500 forms for existing claims for (a) universal credit, (b) personal independence payments, (c) disability living allowance, (d) employment and support allowance and (e) attendance allowance in the latest period for which figures are available.

Drew Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many DS1500 forms have been processed within targets set for (a) universal credit, (b) personal independence payments, (c) disability living allowance, (d) employment and support allowance and (e) attendance allowance in the most recent period for which figures are available.

Alok Sharma: The information requested is not collated centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost. The DS1500 is not a claim form and its use in providing evidential support for claims from people who are terminally ill claiming benefit is not obligatory.

Personal Independence Payment: Terminal Illnesses

Drew Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department will assess the potential merits of allowing personal independence payment claimants claiming under terminal illness rules to continue receiving their claim following a stay of longer than 28 days in hospital as is the case for stays of longer than 28 days in hospices.

Sarah Newton: This Government is committed to supporting the needs of terminally ill claimants and ensuring that the rules around benefit entitlement are applied sensitively and proportionally. A hospice for the purpose of the Personal Independence Payment Regulations is a hospital or other institution, other than an NHS hospital or institution, whose primary function is to provide palliative care for residents who have a progressive disease in its final stages. Where someone is maintained free of charge while undergoing medical or other treatment as an in-patient in a hospital or similar institution funded by the NHS, payment of (but not entitlement to) Personal Independence Payment (PIP) ceases after 28 days. This is on the basis that the NHS is responsible for the entirety of the person’s disability-related extra costs and to pay PIP in addition would be a duplication of public funds intended for the same purpose. Once someone is discharged from hospital, payment of PIP recommences from the date of discharge.

Children: Maintenance

Angela Crawley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many child maintenance claimants her Department has supported to provide non-geographic bank account details to the paying parent in each year for which information is available.

Justin Tomlinson: Child Maintenance Service supports victims of domestic violence in a number of ways. One of which is enabling notification issued to paying parents which provide non-geographic bank details, in respect of the receiving parents bank details. On investigating this request, I can confirm that we do not report on the notifications issued and therefore we cannot provide the volumes as requested

Personal Independence Payment

Debbie Abrahams: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Written Statement of 19 January 2018 on Welfare, HCWS414, how many of the 1.6 million personal independence payment cases have been reviewed by her Department to date.

Debbie Abrahams: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 2 February 2018 to Question 125505 on Personal Independence Payment: Mental Health, what recent assessment she has made of the administrative costs to her Department of reviewing the 1.6 million personal independence payment claims.

Sarah Newton: As outlined in the Written Statement of 25 June 2018 (HCWS793), my Department is carrying out an administrative exercise to identify anyone who may be entitled to more support under Personal Independence Payment (PIP) as a result of the MH and RJ judgments. As additionally outlined in the Written Statement of 25 June 2018, I am committed to updating the House regularly and a statement on progress of this exercise will be tabled in the autumn. The administrative cost of the exercise will depend on a number of factors, including the number of cases identified.

Employment and Support Allowance

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 4 September 2018 to Question 167122, what information her Department holds on the number of people who have been underpaid employment and support allowance.

Sarah Newton: The Department is reviewing around 300,000 cases that were receiving contributory ESA only at 21 October 2014 and we estimated that around 70,000 of those cases may have been underpaid. In addition, following the Government’s announcement on 18 July 2018, we are looking at around a further 250,000 cases that may have been affected before 21 October 2014.

Employment and Support Allowance

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the timescale is for resolving cases of underpayment of employment support allowance.

Sarah Newton: The Department is prioritising the cases most likely to be affected.We expect to finish reviewing and correcting the original 300,000 cases early next year.We are currently assessing the timescales for completion of the additional 250,000 cases that are now in scope following the decision to pay arrears back to the date of conversion from incapacity benefit.Our aim is for all claimants to receive the benefit they are due as quickly as practicable.

Universal Credit: Greenwich and Woolwich

Matthew Pennycook: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make an estimate of the number of households in Greenwich and Woolwich constituency that will be migrated from legacy benefits to universal credit.

Alok Sharma: The requested information is not available for publication by constituency

Universal Credit

Matthew Pennycook: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when her Department undertook the most recent equality impact assessment of universal credit.

Alok Sharma: DWP published an Equality Impact Assessment for Universal Credit in 2011, which stands overall, although in line with Ministers’ legal duties equality impacts have been considered on all major changes to Universal Credit. The Equality Impact Assessment can be accessed at:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/universal-credit-equality-impact-assessment

Employment Schemes: Young People

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the answer dated 11 September to Question 138342 on Employment Schemes: Young People, what estimate she has made of the cost of estimating the number of young people who have started their Youth Obligation Support Programme journey and have subsequently gone on to an apprenticeship.

Alok Sharma: The cost of estimating the number the number of young people who have started their Youth Obligation Support Programme (YOSP) journey and have subsequently gone on to an apprenticeship, would comprise of the cost of accessing each individual record, and the validation of the resulting data. This would incur disproportionate cost.

Employment Schemes: Young People

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what measures her Department uses to assess the effectiveness of the Youth Obligation Support Programme.

Alok Sharma: DWP uses evidence from a number of sources to monitor the effectiveness of its policies, including administrative datasets, survey data and commissioned research, as well as feedback from staff and stakeholder groups.

Employment Schemes: Young People

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what information her Department holds on the outcomes for young people who start their Youth Obligation Support Programme journey.

Alok Sharma: The Department holds information on claimants’ self-reported outcomes which is contained in their individual accounts.

Department for Work and Pensions: Brexit

Alan Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the 2018-19 Main Estimates, how much funding her Department has allocated to prepare for the UK to leave the EU.

Alok Sharma: The Department for Exiting the European Union is carrying out detailed work with departments to prepare for leaving the EU and coordinating planning. Members of staff across the Department for Work and Pensions provide advice and analysis on EU Exit issues as required. Given the interactions between EU exit work and the Department’s other priorities, it would not be possible to give a figure for the information requested. We can confirm that no additional funding for 2018/19 was sought or provided to the Department by HM Treasury for EU Exit preparations.

Universal Credit

Debbie Abrahams: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the draft Universal Credit (Transitional Provisions) (Managed Migration) Regulations 2018, what estimate she has made of the number and proportion of claimants in receipt of (a) severe disability premium and (b) enhanced disability premium under employment support allowance who will see a reduction in social security support as a result of moving to universal credit.

Alok Sharma: The Government has already made a commitment that anyone who is moved to Universal Credit without a change of circumstance will be protected. Transitional protection will be provided to eligible claimants, including those in receipt of severe disability or enhanced disability premiums, to safeguard their existing benefit entitlement until their circumstances change.We are also changing the system to prevent those claimants in receipt of Severe Disability Premium on existing benefits from moving to Universal Credit until they qualify for transitional protection. In addition, we will provide both an on-going payment to claimants who have already lost this Premium as a consequence of moving to Universal Credit and an additional payment to cover the period since they moved. These changes are subject to parliamentary approval of the Universal Credit Managed Migration and Transitional Protection Regulations which we intend to bring forward in the autumn. In the legacy system there are £2.4bn of unclaimed benefits not taken up by people who need them, because they do not know about them. These Regulations will ensure that 700,000 more people will get paid their full entitlement under Universal Credit.

Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974

Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether she has made an assessment of the effectiveness of section 6 of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 as it applies to medical devices containing computers; and if she will make a statement.

Sarah Newton: Section 6 of the Health and safety at Work etc. Act 1974 places duties on any person who designs, manufacturers, imports or supplies any article for use at work to ensure that it will be safe and without risks to health. In general this applies to all devices used in the workplace but there are exceptions, such as medical devices, which are regulated by specific regulations that set out more detailed duties. The Medical Devices Regulations 2002 deal with the design, manufacture, import or supply of medical devices, including those which may contain computers/software. It is for the designer, manufacturer, importer or supplier to demonstrate that their product is safe. These regulations transpose the requirements of the following European Directives concerning product safety for medical devices: Council Directive 90/385/EEC on Active Implantable Medical Devices (AIMDD)(1990)Council Directive 93/42/EEC on Medical Devices (MDD)(1993)Council Directive 98/79/EC on In Vitro Diagnostic Medical Devices (IVDMD)(1998)The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Authority (MHRA) regulates medical devices in the UK. The following link provides more information on MHRA and its role:https://www.gov.uk/topic/medicines-medical-devices-blood/medical-devices-regulation-safety.

Television: Licensing

Ian C. Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many households occupied by at least one person over 75 were in receipt of a free television licence by constituency in the most recent period for which figures are available.

Guy Opperman: The Department for Work and Pensions does not hold data on the number of households in receipt of a free television license broken down by Parliamentary constituency. The number of households in receipt of winter fuel payment (aged 75 and over) by Parliamentary constituency can be used as a proxy for television license (assuming those in receipt of winter fuel payment have a television) and can be found in the dataset ‘Households by Parliamentary constituency and age, Winter Fuel Payment, 2017 to 2018 via the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/winter-fuel-payment-recipient-and-household-figures-2017-to-20178

Department for Work and Pensions: Living Wage

Gareth Snell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many staff in her Department that work (a) inside and (b) outside Greater London are paid at a rate below the Real Living Wage.

Justin Tomlinson: The Department for Work and Pensions pays all employees at least the statutory National Living Wage of £7.83 per hour, regardless of age. The Living Wage Foundation advocates employers paying an alternative hourly rate known as the Real Living Wage (RLW) or London Living Wage (LLW). The current Real Living Wage is £8.75. (a) Inside Greater London 33 employees are paid less than the RLW.(b) Outside Greater London 85 employees are paid less than the RLW. Please note the above figures are calculated based on all employees in London working a 37 hour week. We do have individuals with a reserved right to work a 36 hour week, which would reduce these figures.

Department for Work and Pensions: Living Wage

Gareth Snell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many staff in her Department that work (a) inside and (b) outside Greater London are paid at a rate below the London Living Wage.

Justin Tomlinson: The Department for Work and Pensions pays all employees at least the statutory National Living Wage of £7.83 per hour, regardless of age. The Living Wage Foundation advocates employers paying an alternative hourly rate known as the Real Living Wage (RLW) or London Living Wage (LLW). The current London Living Wage is £10.20. (a) Inside Greater London 33 employees are paid less than the LLW(b) Outside Greater London 15,663 employees are paid less than the LLW. Employees outside of Greater London can be based anywhere across the country. Please note the above figures are calculated based on all employees in London working a 37 hour week. We do have individuals with a reserved right to work a 36 hour week, which would reduce these figures.

Department for Work and Pensions: Working Hours

Gareth Snell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the contracted hours are for the highest paid member of staff in her Department.

Justin Tomlinson: The highest paid member of staff at the Department for Work and Pensions is contracted to work 42 hours weekly. The standard departmental contract states that all Senior Civil Servants are subject to a minimum of 42 hours, including daily lunch breaks of 1 hour. Senior Civil Servants are also required to work any additional hours that may be reasonable and necessary for efficient performance of one’s duties.

Department for Work and Pensions: Staff

Gareth Snell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how may staff (a) are employed directly by (b) are seconded to and (c) work under contract to her Department.

Justin Tomlinson: (a) DWP latest published Departmental headcount and payroll data for July 2018 shows a total of 82,626 staff employed by the department.(b) In relation to secondments in to the department, the information requested is not collated centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.(c) Departmental headcount and payroll data for July 2018 shows 614 people working under contract to the Department.

State Retirement Pensions: Females

Christine Jardine: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the efficacy of the Independent Case Examiner  in investigating complaints from women affected by state pension age equalisation measures.

Guy Opperman: The Department for Work and Pensions has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

State Retirement Pensions: Females

Christine Jardine: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the Independent Case Examiner's progress in dealing with complaints made by women affected by the state pension age equalisation measures.

Guy Opperman: The Department for Work and Pensions has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Occupational Pensions

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the number of people who pay both the employer and employee auto-enrolment pension contribution.

Guy Opperman: The Department for Work and Pensions does not collect statistics on the number of employers, with automatic enrolment duties, who are also employees of the businesses they own. Since 2012, in Ellesmere Port and Neston constituency, approximately 7,000 eligible jobholders have been automatically enrolled into a workplace pension, and around 1,000 employers have declared compliance with their automatic enrolment duties.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Bovine Tuberculosis: Disease Control

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what proportion of land holdings in the cull area were visited by Natural England to assess whether best practice on exposure to extreme weather was being followed during the supplementary badger culls in west Somerset and west Gloucestershire in 2018.

George Eustice: Natural England monitored 52% and 45% of available landholdings in West Gloucester and West Somerset respectively in 2018 to assess compliance with licence conditions and the Best Practice Guide.

Packaging: Recycling

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what processes his Department has in place to ensure that exported packaging waste is recycled by the country of destination.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: All businesses involved in the export of wastes are required to take all necessary steps to ensure that the waste they ship is managed in an environmentally sound manner throughout its shipment and during its recycling. There is a system of international rules on waste shipments which must be followed by both UK authorities and those in the country of destination to ultimately ensure the environmentally sound management of waste. Only exporters accredited by the relevant agency can issue evidence of the recycling of exported packaging waste (PERNs). PERNS can only be issued on waste sent to an approved site (that will operate to standards ‘broadly equivalent’ to those in the EU).

Environmental Protection

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the guidance, Upholding environmental standards if there’s no Brexit deal, published on 13 September 2018, when he plans to publish the interim measures that may be necessary in a no deal scenario.

David Rutley: The EU (Withdrawal) Act will ensure existing EU environmental law continues to have effect in UK law after the UK leaves the EU.The Government has committed to create a new body to hold the Government to account on its compliance with environmental law. In a no deal scenario we will work to ensure that this body is in place as soon as possible with the necessary powers to review and, if necessary, take enforcement action in respect of ongoing breaches of environmental law from when the jurisdiction of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has ended.Any interim measures that may be necessary under a no deal scenario before the new body is established will be brought forward in due course.

Bovine Tuberculosis: Gloucestershire

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what (a) guarantees and (b) protections have been put in place to ensure that the Woodchester Badger Project is not adversely affected by the further roll-out of badger culling in Gloucestershire.

George Eustice: The Animal and Plant Health Agency’s ongoing study of the wild badger population at Woodchester Park in Gloucestershire adapts to any changes in the surrounding badger population and will continue to inform policy in line with our TB strategy’s adaptive and evidence-based approach.

Bovine Tuberculosis: Disease Control

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make it his policy to provide hon. Members with (a) the location of and (b) information and guidance on proposed badger culls in their constituencies.

George Eustice: Hon. Members are informed if new culls are taking place in their constituencies. Information on the location of proposed badger culls at county level is publicly available through the Opportunity to Comment exercise that Natural England undertakes in counties where licence applications or expressions of interest have been received. Public notices are placed in the local press, on GOV.UK and sent to local and county councils. A summary of responses is also published on GOV.UK.

Home Office

Alexanda Kotey and El Shafee Elsheikh

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether death penalty assurances have been waived in any cases prior to those of Alexanda Kotey and El Shafee Elsheikh.

Mr Ben Wallace: A review of available records (dating back to 2001) has been undertaken and I can confirm that this has occurred on two previous occasions that have been identified, under successive governments.Due to the potential to harm on-going criminal investigations or future prosecutions, and the confidentiality attached to mutual legal assistance, it would not be appropriate to share further information.

Cannabis: Medical Treatments

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment he has made of whether there is a correlation between the unrestricted sale of natural cannabis oil in health stores and the number of thefts on the high street; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Nick Hurd: We do not hold data to assess whether there is a correlation between the sale of natural cannabis oil and the number of thefts on the high street.A CBD, or cannabidiol product, in its pure form is not controlled under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971. However, a CBD product, which contains any trace of the psychoactive compounds that are found in cannabis, such as THC, is considered to be a controlled substance under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 and therefore unlawful to possess and supply unless it fits the criteria for an ‘exempt product’ under the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001.Enforcement of illegal sales of drugs is an operational matter for the police but we expect them to enforce the law.

Members: Correspondence

Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when he plans to respond to the letter from the hon. Member for East Dunbartonshire of 19 April 2018, reference JS2981, on behalf of a constituent enquiry in relation to the Windrush Generation.

Caroline Nokes: A reply to the Hon. Member for East Dunbartonshire's letter of 19 April 2018, reference JS2981, was sent by post on 10 September 2018.

Asylum: Dunkirk

Jeff Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions his Department has had with their French counterparts on the forced eviction of of asylum seekers at the Grande-Synthe camp in Dunkirk.

Caroline Nokes: Following the clearance of the ‘Jungle’ camp in Calais in 2016, French authorities have worked extensively to ensure that similar camps do not form across Northern France. This remains a domestic matter for the French and as such the British Government are not consulted prior to any clearances which take place. Following the closure of the Grande-Synthe camp, we were informed by French authorities that the migrants have been moved into asylum accommodation, where their claims will be considered and the necessary support will be provided.In January 2018, the UK and France signed the Sandhurst Treaty, which demonstrates our ongoing commitment to prevent irregular migration and to the continued operation of the juxtaposed controls. Our cooperation with France includes joint work to improve security at the shared border in northern France; to reduce illegal migration flows towards northern French ports and to support France in returning migrants with no legal right to be in Europe.

National County Lines Coordination Centre

Joan Ryan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the timetable is for the National County Lines Coordination Centre to become operational; how many staff that centre is planned to employ; and how many of those staff are planned to be (a) full-time and (b) part-time.

Victoria Atkins: The National County Lines Co-ordination Centre has been established jointly by the National Police Chiefs’ Council lead and the National Crime Agency and is a commitment in the Serious Violence Strategy. A hub within the National Crime Agency has been active since early this year, and the Centre became fully operational in September. It has around 40 staff but we do not have a breakdown between full-time and part-time staff but we will provide the Hon. Member with one wehn we receive it.

Immigration: EU Nationals

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people who have been invited to participate in the pilot of the application process for the EU Settlement Scheme had done so as of 11 September 2018.

Caroline Nokes: The private beta phase is entirely voluntary. EU citizens and non-EU citizen family members who are eligible do not need to apply now and can choose to apply after the scheme has rolled out fully. Given the voluntary nature of the private beta phase, we do not expect all eligible EU citizens and non-EU citizen family members to apply.We will provide further details in due course of these subsequent phases, and we will continue to update Parliament as part of that process.

Police: Wales

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will provide the number of (a) police officers and (b) civilian staff in each territorial police force in Wales in each year since 2010.

Mr Nick Hurd: The Home Office collects and publishes statistics on the number of police officers and police staff employed by each police force in England and Wales on a bi-annual basis. These data are published in the ‘Police workforce, England and Wales’ statistical publication.Data on the number of police officers and police staff in England and Wales, by police force, as at 31 March each year and going back to March 2007, can be found in the accompanying Open Data Table: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/629362/open-data-table-police-workforce.ods

Members: Correspondence

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when he plans to respond to the letter of 30 April 2018 from the hon. Member for York Central on a constituent's citizenship case.

Caroline Nokes: A response was completed and dispatched on 9 August 2018.

Members: Correspondence

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the average time is for his Department to respond to letters from hon. Members in the last 12 months.

Victoria Atkins: Between January 2018 and the end of June 2018, UKVI, IE, Border Force and HMPO received 23,495 emails and letters from MPs on behalf of their constituents. 22,005 were answered with service standard (93.6%). The average number of days to reply was 24.During the same period, the Department also responded to 3,368 letters from MPs on non-operational and policy matters. The average time taken to respond was 23 working days.

Knives: Imports

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether Border Force takes steps to seize bladed articles imported to the UK for delivery to a person under 18; and if he will make a statement.

Caroline Nokes: Border Force does not conduct checks on the age of the consignee because currently at the time of purchase, it is the seller’s responsibility to ensure that they are not selling articles with blade or point, or prohibited items to under 18’s.On 20 June the Offensive Weapons Bill was introduced into Parliament. The Bill forms one of the commitments within the Serious Violence Strategy published in April to respond to crimes involving knives, corrosive substances and firearms.Border Force, with other law enforcement partners, will enforce any new measures introduced in the Offensive Weapons Bill, subject to it completing its Parliamentary passage and receiving Royal Assent.

Emergency Services Network

Douglas Ross: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when he plans to publish the review into the Emergency Services Network.

Douglas Ross: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when he plans for the Emergency Services Network to be fully operational.

Douglas Ross: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the timetable is for the roll-out individual of components of the Emergency Services Network to police forces.

Mr Nick Hurd: On Friday 21 September, the Home Office announced that the review into the Emergency Services Mobile Communications Programme (ESMCP) was complete and a decision has been taken to go forward and complete the new network, subject to agreement by all other sponsors of the programme.The full announcement can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-strategic-direction-for-the-emergency-services-network-esn

Policing Front Line Review

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the front-line policing review will consider (a) pay and (b) police officer numbers.

Mr Nick Hurd: The Front Line Review will not explicitly address officer pay and resourcing. The review provides officers with the opportunity to share their experiences from the frontline, and their ideas for improving support and development.We are also working very closely with the police to build the evidence base on police demand, resilience and capability ahead of the next Spending Review.Further information on the review is available on the following website: http://www.gov.uk/government/publications/front-line-policing-review/front-line-policing-review

Police: Finance

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the resources provided to police forces over the last three years.

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will make an assessment of the adequacy of the resources available to the police.

Mr Nick Hurd: Overall police spending, including precept and funding for national priorities, has been protected in real terms since Spending Review 2015.Last year, I spoke to all 43 polices force in England & Wales about the demands they face. The Government is supporting the police to respond to changing demand with an over £460m increase in total investment in the police system this financial year, including an increase of around £280m in funding for Police & Crime Commissioners through council tax precept.We are also working very closely with the police to build the evidence base on police demand, resilience and capability ahead of the next Spending Review.

Police: Finance

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he has held discussions with (a) the NPCC, (b) the National Police Co-ordination Centre and (c) other senior police leaders on the additional resources that will be required by those organisations to prepare for the UK leaving the EU without a deal.

Mr Nick Hurd: The Home Office has held planning discussions with the National Police Co-ordination Centre on the impact of leaving the European Union.It is the duty of any responsible government to prepare for all scenarios, including the unlikely event that we reach March 2019 without agreeing a deal. With that in mind, we are working closely with operational partners — including the police — on contingency planning so we can ensure the safety and security of our citizens. This work will ensure that we could put those plans into action and ensure that we would be able to transition our cooperation with European partners, and continue to work together through alternative channels, should that be required.We are also working very closely with the police to build the evidence base on police demand, resilience and capability ahead of the next Spending Review.The Government remains committed to ensuring that forces have the resources they need to carry out their important work.

Immigration: Appeals

Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment his Department has made of the reasons for the proportion of his Department's appeals against immigration rulings which are refused; and if he will make a statement.

Caroline Nokes: The Home Office carefully considers all allowed appeals and only challenges these in the Upper Tribunal where we believe there has been a material error of law.

Home Office: Temporary Employment

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many staff in his Department are classified as contingent labour.

Victoria Atkins: As at the 31st August 2018 the Home Department, including its Agencies and NDPBs had engaged under contract a total of 332 contingent labour contractors.

Members: Correspondence

Alison Thewliss: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she plans to respond to the letter of 23 June 2018 from the hon. Member for Glasgow Central on the matter of a constituent, Habib Riaz.

Caroline Nokes: I can confirm that a substantive response will be sent within the week.

Child Sexual Abuse Independent Panel Inquiry

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when he plans to publish the Government's response to the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse's Interim Report, published on 25 April 2018.

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the oral contribution of the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Mental Health and Inequalities of 19 June 2018, Official Report, Column 181, when he plans to respond to the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse's Interim Report, published on 25 April 2018.

Victoria Atkins: The Government has welcomed the Interim Report of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse and is carefully considering the recommendations directed at Government. We will respond fully in due course.

Home Office: Living Wage

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many staff in his Department that work (a) inside and (b) outside Greater London are paid at a rate below the Real Living Wage.

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many staff in his Department that work (a) inside and (b) outside Greater London are paid at a rate below the London Living Wage.

Victoria Atkins: In April 2016, the Government introduced a higher minimum wage rate, called the National Living Wage, which all employers in the UK are required to pay to those aged 25 and over.The Home Office is compliant with April 2018 National Living Wage of £7.83 and pays this regardless of age. The Living Wage Foundation (LWF) is an initiative by Citizens UK which advocates employers paying an alternative hourly rate known as the Real Living Wage or London Real Living Wage. The current Real Living Wage is £8.75 and London Real Living Wage is £10.20. Currently there are 4 directly employed staff being paid marginally below the Real Living Wage Foundation rate

Child Sexual Abuse Independent Panel Inquiry

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Written Statement of 25 April 2018 on Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) – Interim Report, HCWS645, what representations he has received on scheduling a debate in the House in Government time on that report.

Victoria Atkins: A debate on the Interim Report of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse will be arranged after the publication of the Government response and as soon as parliamentary time allows.

Arrests

Jo Stevens: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment he has made of trends in the number of arrests made by the police in the last five years.

Mr Nick Hurd: In the last 5 years, arrests have fallen 27% from 1,225,123 (2011/2012) to 779,660 (2016/17). This continues the downward trend since a peak in the year ending March 2008, when there were 1,475,266 arrests.There are a number of possible factors which may have contributed to the fall in the number of arrests. Inspections carried out by HMICFRS in 2016, as part of their police effectiveness assessments, did not identify one single cause (PEEL report on police effectiveness). One possible reason linked to the fall in the number of arrests is the increased use of voluntary attendance, where an individual attends voluntarily at a police station or at any other place where a constable is present without having been arrested for the purpose of assisting with an investigation. It is thought that the use of this practice has increased due to a more stringent application of the necessity test (which was introduced in 2012), where, for an arrest to be lawful, there must be reasonable grounds for believing that the arrest is necessary (PACE Code G).There is also evidence of greater use of other outcomes, such as community resolutions, as part of efforts to reduce the number of young people entering custody. Other factors that may have had an impact on the fall in the number of arrests are discussed in the HMICFRS PEEL report 2016. See http://www.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmicfrs/wp-content/uploads/peel-police-effectiveness-2016.pdf

Crime

Jo Stevens: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment he has made of trends in the proportion of reported crimes that lead to a caution or a charge in the last five years.

Mr Nick Hurd: Crime outcomes for England and Wales are published quarterly by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The table below shows the changes in the proportion of crimes (excluding fraud offences which are not recorded by the police) resulting in a caution or charge/summons for the last five years.Volumes - published data2013/142014/152015/162016/172017/18Cautions164,307141,716120,078100,49981,242Charged/Summonsed604,728592,900561,462527,236495,655Total Cautions and Charged/Summonsed769,035734,616681,540627,735576,897Total Recorded Crime (excluding fraud)3,506,5453,574,2873,888,1584,320,4604,877,000Proportion of crime resulting in caution or charged/summons22%21%18%15%12%Source: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/crime-outcomes-in-england-and-wales-2017-to-2018The likelihood of a crime resulting in a charge can vary for a number of reasons, including the complexity or severity of an offence or the difficulty in identifying a suspect.Changes in charge rates are likely to reflect a shift in the nature of demand on the police, through a combination of improved crime recording by forces and more victims coming forward to report complex crimes which take longer to receive an outcome, such as domestic abuse or sexual offences.

Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service: Finance

Ms Angela Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 11 September 2018 to Question 171296 on Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service, how much core spending power Merseyside Fire and Rescue Authority has received in each of the last 10 years.

Mr Nick Hurd: Details of Merseyside Fire and Rescue Authority Spending Power and the contribution from formula grant or the Settlement Funding Assessment between 2008-09 and 2009-10 can be found on line at:  http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20090506010530tf_/http://www.local.communities.gov.uk/finance/0809/grant.htmhttp://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20090506010526/http://www.local.communities.gov.uk/finance/0910/grant.htm Since 2010 there have been changes to the finance and function of local government, therefore spending power, Formula Grant and Settlement Funding Assessment are not directly comparable over this period.

Alcoholic Drinks: Misuse

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will outline the scope of the consultation exercise to be undertaken in preparation for the forthcoming alcohol strategy.

Victoria Atkins: The Government remains committed to tackling harms caused by alcohol. Our new alcohol strategy will set out targeted action to prevent and reduce harmful drinking, support vulnerable people affected by others’ alcohol misuse and improve the pathways into treatment for people with alcohol dependency.As we develop measures to include in the strategy, we are consulting widely across government and with a range of stakeholders including the health sector, academics, the voluntary sector and representatives of the alcohol industry and the licensed trade.

Home Office: Written Questions

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to Question 167956 asked on 24 July 2018, when his Department plans to answer that Question; and for what reasons that Question has not yet been answered.

Mr Ben Wallace: The response for UIN 167956 was given on the 9th October 2018.

Deportation: West Africa

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many of the 70 individuals on board the charter flight bound for Nigeria and Ghana on 28 March 2017 which was prevented by protesters from leaving Stansted airport (a) have been referred under the National Referral Mechanism for the identification of victims of trafficking, (b) have since been granted leave to remain in the UK and (c) were a member of the Windrush generation.

Caroline Nokes: There were 60 people who were due to be returned on the charter flight to Nigeria and Ghana on 28 March 2017.Of the 60 and at the time of writing, 4 have been referred under the National Referral Mechanism for the identification of victims of trafficking. Of these 4, 2 were found not to be victims of trafficking (of which 1 has been removed) and 2 are still under consideration.1 has been granted status as the family member of an EEA national.Any individual who believes they are protected under the provisions of the 1971 Immigration Act is able to contact the Windrush Taskforce, who will help to identify their current status. None of the individuals have contacted the Taskforce.

Wales Office

Wales Office: Staff

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, how many staff (a) are employed directly by (b) are seconded to and (c) work under contract to his Department.

Mims Davies: The Office of the Secretary of State for Wales does not employ staff directly. All staff working at the Office are employed by the Ministry of Justice (MOJ).2.3 (FTE) staff are seconded to the Office from the Government Legal Department.There are no staff working under contract to the Department. Contractors delivering services to the Office do so under other government departments’ contracts.

Wales Office: Living Wage

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, how many staff in his Department that work (a) inside and (b) outside Greater London are paid at a rate below the Real Living Wage.

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, how many staff in his Department that work (a) inside and (b) outside Greater London are paid at a rate below the London Living Wage.

Mims Davies: Staff in the Office of the Secretary of State for Wales are based in either London or Cardiff.All staff based in our London office are paid at a rate above the London Living Wage and all staff based in our Cardiff office are paid at a rate above the UK Living Wage (Real Living Wage).

Department for Exiting the European Union

Department for Exiting the European Union: Mobile Phones

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, if he will publish a list of the mobile phone applications developed by his Department and its agencies in the last three years; and what the cost to the public purse was of developing of each of those applications.

Chris Heaton-Harris: The Department for Exiting the European Union has not developed any mobile phone applications.The Government Digital Service lead the Digital, Data and Technology function for Government and guidance on working with mobile technology can be found published on the gov.uk website. https://www.gov.uk/service-manual/technology/working-with-mobile-technology#native-or-hybrid-apps

European Parliament: Elections

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, whether he has held discussions with Cabinet colleagues and EU representatives on the holding of European parliamentary elections in the UK in 2019 in the event that the UK's withdrawal from the EU is delayed.

Chris Heaton-Harris: The Prime Minister has been clear that the United Kingdom will cease to be a member of the European Union on the 29th March 2019 and we will no longer have Members of the European Parliament.

Brexit

Kate Hollern: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, whether the Government plans to publish its contingency plans for no deal being reached on the UK leaving the EU.

Chris Heaton-Harris: The Government has been clear on the outcome it wants to achieve, which is to secure a mutually advantageous deal with the EU. However, we have already carried out very significant ‘no deal’ preparations for the unlikely event that we reach March 2019 without agreeing a deal. We have successfully passed critical legislation, signed international agreements, recruited additional staff and guaranteed certain EU funding in a ‘no deal’ scenario.We have already published a series of 77 technical notices so that businesses and citizens have time to prepare in the event of a 'no deal' scenario. These are available on gov.uk in a centralised location that is easy for people to access and use.

Department for Exiting the European Union: British Nationals Abroad and EU Nationals

Jo Stevens: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, how many meetings Ministers of his Department have had with organisations representing (a) EU citizens in the UK and (b) UK citizens in the EU (i) since his appointment and (ii) since January 2018.

Chris Heaton-Harris: Ministers and officials from across Government are speaking to stakeholders from a variety of sectors, including organisations representing EU citizens in the UK and UK citizens in the EU, to understand their concerns and priorities regarding our EU exit.Working with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Home Office, DExEU has hosted sixteen community outreach information events with diaspora communities in the UK and organisations that represent EU citizens. Since January 2018, DExEU ministers have attended twelve of these events; four of these have taken place since the Secretary of State’s appointment. UK diplomatic posts around EU 27 member states have hosted a number of events with UK citizens in the EU.The Home Office has long standing relationships with groups representing EU citizens, and is discussing the design of the scheme to grant status to EU citizens already resident in the UK with employers, suppliers and citizens.

Department for Exiting the European Union: Career Development

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, how many staff who transferred into his Department were promoted to a higher grade upon their transfer; and how many have since transferred out of his Department at that higher grade.

Chris Heaton-Harris: The information you have requested is not held centrally therefore we are not in a position to provide this.The Department for Exiting the European Union now has over 650 staff. The Department continues to recruit the brightest and the best from across the civil service, the wider public sector and the private sector, in a range of professions.

Department for Exiting the European Union: Working Hours

Gareth Snell: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what the contracted hours are for the highest paid member of staff in his Department.

Chris Heaton-Harris: All SCS staff are employed on standard Senior Civil Service employment contracts. Due to the small numbers of staff affected the Department is unable to release this information as disclosure would contravene data protection principles.

Department for Exiting the European Union: Staff

Gareth Snell: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, how many staff (a) are employed directly by (b) are seconded to and (c) work under contract to his Department.

Chris Heaton-Harris: An error has been identified in the written answer given on 09 October 2018.The correct answer should have been:

I can confirm that all staff directly employed by the Department for Exiting the European Union are paid in line with the Government’s National Living Wage. All staff are based in London and are paid in line with the living wage, as defined by the Living Wage Foundation.The Department is recruiting the brightest and the best from across the civil service, the wider public sector and the private sector. The Department for Exiting the European Union now has over 650 staff. We will not be providing a running commentary as recruitment is ongoing and numbers are regularly changing.

Chris Heaton-Harris: I can confirm that all staff directly employed by the Department for Exiting the European Union are paid in line with the Government’s National Living Wage. All staff are based in London and are paid in line with the living wage, as defined by the Living Wage Foundation.The Department is recruiting the brightest and the best from across the civil service, the wider public sector and the private sector. The Department for Exiting the European Union now has over 650 staff. We will not be providing a running commentary as recruitment is ongoing and numbers are regularly changing.

Department for Exiting the European Union: Finance

Patrick Grady: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, with reference to the 2018-19 Main Estimates, published in April 2018, how much additional funding his Department has been allocated since the publication of those estimates to prepare for the UK leaving the EU.

Chris Heaton-Harris: The Department for Exiting the European Union has had no additional funding allocated since the 2018-19 Main Estimates, published in April 2018.

Sanitary Protection: VAT

Anneliese Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what discussions he has had with his EU counterparts on the classification of sanitary items for VAT purposes within the context of the EU withdrawal negotiations.

Chris Heaton-Harris: The Government has continued to press at EU level for the flexibility to apply a zero rate of VAT to women’s sanitary products so that this can be introduced in the UK at the earliest opportunity.In January 2018, the European Commission brought forward a legislative proposal to enhance Member States’ flexibility to apply reduced and zero rates of VAT.This proposal remains under discussion and, if agreed to by Member States, would give the UK the legal ability to zero rate women’s sanitary products.

Brexit

Sir Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what assessment he has made of the financial liabilities the UK would have to accept in the event that the UK leaves the EU without a deal; and if he will make a statement.

Chris Heaton-Harris: In the unlikely event that we leave the EU without a deal, the financial settlement, as set out in the Withdrawal Agreement, would be open for consideration. As the Prime Minister has clearly stated, we are a country that believes in the rule of law and therefore we would abide by our legal obligations. However, the nature of the financial settlement, as set out in the Withdrawal Agreement, is contingent upon us agreeing the deal as a whole.

Northern Ireland Office

Northern Ireland Assembly: Members

Ged Killen: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, whether the savings accrued to the public purse as a result of the reduction in the pay of Members of the Legislative Assembly will be allocated to her Department.

Mr Shailesh Vara: The budget for the payment of salaries to MLAs is held by the Assembly Commission which is the corporate body of the NI Assembly. Any money that is unspent or savings realised throughout a year would be returned to the central Consolidated Fund for redistribution within the Northern Ireland Civil Service.

Terrorism: Northern Ireland

Mr Mark Francois: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many convicted Republican terrorists, who were subsequently provided with letters of comfort by the Government have been re-convicted of a terrorism-related offence.

Karen Bradley: The Government does not hold the requested information on convictions as this is a matter for the independent prosecuting authorities and the courts.

Northern Ireland Office: Staff

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many staff (a) are employed directly by (b) are seconded to and (c) work under contract to his Department.

Mr Shailesh Vara: The Northern Ireland Office employs 119 staff directly, 34 staff on secondment and fewer than 5 staff are working under contract.

Northern Ireland Office: Living Wage

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many staff in her Department that work (a) inside and (b) outside Greater London are paid at a rate below the London Living Wage.

Mr Shailesh Vara: I can confirm that no members of staff in the Northern Ireland Office either inside or outside Greater London are paid at a rate below the London Living Wage.

Northern Ireland Office: Working Hours

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what the contracted hours are for the highest paid member of staff in her Department.

Mr Shailesh Vara: The highest paid member of staff in the Northern Ireland Office is contracted to work a minimum (over a 5 day week) of 41 hours per week. Senior Civil Servants are contracted to work a minimum (over a 5 day week) of either 41 or 42 hours, including daily meal breaks for one hour. The new model contract was introduced on the 1st July 2013, which standardise the working hours to 42 hours which was applicable to all new staff as well as those staff being promoted into or within SCS, from that date forward.

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport: Brexit

Jo Stevens: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, on what days (a) he and (b) officials in his Department met with representatives of businesses in the gaming industry to discuss the UK leaving EU in the last 12 months.

Margot James: Details of Ministerial meetings are published on a quarterly basis on gov.uk. Over the past year, DCMS officials have engaged extensively with representatives from the creative industries, including the video games sector, on a range of issues including the impact of exiting the EU. This includes regular meetings with the Creative Industries Council and its individual working groups, with trade associations, and with individual businesses.

Digital Technology: Wallasey

Ms Angela Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps his Department is taking to tackle digital exclusion in Wallasey constituency.

Margot James: We are committed to tackling digital exclusion and the UK Digital Strategy, published in March 2017, describes the steps we are taking across government, including:Establishing the Digital Skills Partnership which brings together stakeholders from the private, public and charity sectors to join efforts to help people increase their digital skills at all levels. It will also build upon the 4 million pledges of free digital skills training opportunities that our corporate partners pledged as part of the Digital Strategy of which more than 2 million have already been delivered. Introducing fully-funded basic digital skills training for adults lacking these vital skills from 2020. Adults will have the opportunity to take improved basic digital courses based on new national standards setting out the basic digital skills needed to participate effectively in the labour market and day–to-day life. We will consult on these new standards in the autumn.Using the 3000 libraries across England to provide a trusted network of accessible locations with trained staff and volunteers, free Wi-Fi, computers, and other technology as well as Assisted Digital access to a wide range of digital public services where individuals are unable for whatever reason to access these services independently. These initiatives will build on the significant investment Government already makes in basic digital skills training through the Adult Education Budget which provides funding to colleges and adult and community learning providers to support provision of training for adults. Depending on an adult’s circumstances, the training may be provided free of charge or at reduced rates. The budget for which will be devolved to the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority (LCRCA) for Academic Year 2019/20. This will allow the LCRCA to ensure that decisions on adult skills provision are made in the best interest of the residents of Liverpool City Region. Government also funds the Future Digital Inclusion programme managed by the Good Things Foundation and delivered through the Online Centres network. To date this programme has supported over 800,000 adult learners to develop their basic digital skills, many of whom are socially excluded.

Libraries: Merseyside

Ms Angela Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how many libraries have closed in (a) Merseyside and (b) Wirral in each of the last 10 years.

Michael Ellis: The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport monitors proposed changes to library service provision throughout England, but does not hold complete figures on the number of public libraries closed in each local authority in each of the last 10 years.

Football: Females

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 5 September 2018 to Question 167995 on Football: Females, how much and what proportion of that funding was allocated to programmes in Easington constituency.

Tracey Crouch: I will write to the hon Member with the information requested, and place a copy of the letter in the House library.

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport: Brexit

Alan Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to the 2018-19 Main Estimates, how much funding his Department has allocated to prepare for the UK to leave the EU.

Margot James: HM Treasury has already allocated over £2 billion of additional funding to departments and the devolved administrations for EU exit preparations so far. This includes the £1.5 billion of additional funding HM Treasury announced at Autumn Budget 2017 for 2018/19. A full breakdown of how this was allocated to departments can be found in the Chief Secretary’s Written Ministerial Statement, HCWS540, laid on the 13th March (https://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-statement/Commons/2018-03-13/HCWS540/). This money will be paid out in Supplementary Estimates 18/19 later this financial year.

Children: Disadvantaged

Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to the announcement, Government invests £5m to increase places for disadvantaged children in youth organisations, published on 10 September 2018, to which areas he plans to distribute that funding; and whether he has plans to allocate funding from that fund to Wakefield.

Tracey Crouch: The Uniformed Youth Fund will increase places in uniformed youth groups to reach disadvantaged young people. The Fund is open to uniformed youth organisations in England and is being managed by Youth United Foundation. The Fund is currently open for applications and will prioritise expansion in deprived areas.

House of Commons Commission

Members' Staff: Females

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the right hon. Member for Carshalton and Wallington, representing the House of Commons Commission, whether the Commission has had discussions with the Minister for Women and Equalities on increasing the proportion of women employed as parliamentary researchers by hon. Members.

Tom Brake: The Commission has no remit in relation to employees of Members of Parliament. It has therefore had no discussions with the Minister for Women and Equalities on increasing the proportion of Members’ parliamentary researchers who are women.

Attorney General

Companies: Regulation

Bill Esterson: To ask the Attorney General, whether the CPS plans to establish a central database of regulatory and enforcement actions taken against companies.

Robert Buckland: The Crown Prosecution Service is a not a regulator but the main independent prosecuting body in England and Wales. Accordingly it does not have access to this information and would therefore not create a central database of regulatory and enforcement actions taken against companies. Company information is held at Companies House which is the responsibility of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.

Hare Coursing

Heidi Allen: To ask the Attorney General, pursuant to the Answer of 28 February 2018 to Question 129098, how many reports of hare coursing were received in each year since 2014; and how many (a) prosecutions and (b) convictions there have been relating to hare coursing in 2018 to date.

Robert Buckland: Offences of hare coursing may be prosecuted using offences created by the Game Act 1831, the Night Poaching Act 1828 and the Hunting Act 2004.The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) does not hold any record of the number of reports of hare coursing offences made to the police.The CPS does not maintain a central record of the number of prosecutions for offences of hare coursing. This information could only be obtained by examining CPS case files, which would incur disproportionate cost.